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Firing Employee for Refusal to Get Out of Jury Duty Gives Rise to Wrongful Discharge Clam

Kollman & Saucier
10/28/2019
Litigation
People sometimes gripe about having to show up for jury duty.  But as an employer, in many states at least, firing an employee for refusing to lie to get out of his jury duty is not the way to go about handling it, as demonstrated by a recent case out of the Fifth Circuit.  Simmons v. Pacific Bells, L.L.C., No. 19-60001 (5th Cir. 9/27/19) (unpublished). Simmons worked for Taco Bell in Mississippi as a manager along with the restaurant’s...
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Sixth Circuit Holds Agreement to Shorten Title VII Statute of Limitations Period Void

Kollman & Saucier
10/23/2019
Employment Discrimination
Can an employment agreement entered into at the start of the employment relationship mandate that an employee file any claim she may have under Title VII within six months?  Sure.  Is it enforceable?  Nope, said the Sixth Circuit recently in Logan v. MGM Grand Detroit Casino, No. 18-1381 (9/25/19). Logan worked for MGM Grand Detroit Casino (MGM) as a culinary utility worker.  At the start of her employment, she entered into an...
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NLRB Finds Confidentiality and Media Contact Rules Lawful

Kollman & Saucier
10/18/2019
Labor Law
As you may recall, under President Obama's National Labor Relations Board, seemingly  innocuous work rules set forth in employee handbooks were routinely struck down as violating Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.  The pendulum has swung the other  way under President Trump's NLRB, as is shown by the Board's recent decision in LA Specialty Produce Company, No. 32-CA-207919 (10/10/19). The case concerned two rules that...
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Employer's Departure from Job Description Can Be Evidence of Pretext

Kollman & Saucier
10/16/2019
Employment Discrimination, Race Discrimination
Job descriptions are important tools in a variety of ways.  What an employer puts (or doesn’t put) on a job description can make a big difference when defending an employment action down the line.  For one, a job description can help employers satisfy ADA obligations by properly identifying a job’s essential functions and distinguishing them from the job’s marginal functions.  This is because the ADA generally protects qualified...
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Eighth Circuit Says Employee Not Required to Use "Magic Words" When Requesting Accomodation

Kollman & Saucier
10/15/2019
Disability & Leave
Employers may wish to avoid learning the details about their employees’ medical conditions.  But trying to avoid such knowledge does not necessarily absolve employers of applicable reasonable accommodation obligations under the ADA.  A recent case out of the Eighth Circuit demonstrates the importance of engaging in the interactive process when an employee asks for an accommodation.  Garrison v. Dolgencorp, LLC, No. 18-1066 (8th Cir....
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Supreme Court Hears Arguments In LGBTQ-Title VII Cases

Kollman & Saucier
10/11/2019
Supreme Court Decisions
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three soon-to-be landmark cases concerning LGBTQ rights under Title VII: Bostock v. Clayton County (No. 17-1618); Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda (No. 17-1623); and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC (18-107).  Bostock and Zarda concern whether sexual orientation is protected under Title VII, while R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes questions whether Title VII...
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Second Circuit Offers Guidance on Associational Discrimination

Kollman & Saucier
10/09/2019
Disability & Leave
How should an employer react when its employee reports needing time off to care for a sick or disabled relative or friend?  The Second Circuit recently weighed in on an ADA associational discrimination claim arising in part from an employer’s denial of a former employee’s schedule modification request to care for his disabled daughter.   Kelleher v. Fred A. Cook, Inc., No. 18-2385 (2d Cir. 9/24/19). John Kelleher began working for...
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“No, Thank You,” is Not Protected Activity

Kollman & Saucier
09/13/2019
Employment Discrimination, Retaliation
Ok, students in my employment discrimination law class, here’s a pop quiz.  “Would you like to go grab dinner with me?” said the boss to his subordinate employee.  “No, thanks,” responds the employee, “I don’t believe in mixing business with pleasure.”   A few weeks later, the employee is reassigned or terminated.  Was the employee’s rejection of a dinner offer stated opposition to sexual harassment that qualifies as protected...
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It’s a Headache: Worker With Intermittent FMLA Leave for Migraines Gets a Trial

Kollman & Saucier
08/14/2019
FMLA
My blog earlier this week noted that the FMLA is 26 years old.  Yet, is it still – in some cases – difficult to apply in a balanced way.  Handling an employee’s use of unexpected intermittent FMLA leave is about the hardest issue an employer faces under this law.   And, to prove my point, let’s take a look at Dyer v. Ventra Sandusky, LLC, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23678 (6th Cir.  Aug. 8, 2019). At issue here was the employer’s application...
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How An Employer’s Misleading Statements Can Be Evidence of Discrimination

Kollman & Saucier
08/13/2019
NLRB, Pretext
Two cases decided this month demonstrate how an employer’s false or inaccurate statements can bolster employees' claims that their employer engaged in unlawful discrimination. Sykes v. Fed Ex Freight East, No. 2:17-cv-13189 (E.D. Mich. 8/3/19) In this case, a supervisor’s misrepresentation or misapplication of a workplace policy led the district court to decide that the employer arguably discriminated against an employee because of his...
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