Employment Discrimination Archives - Page 2 of 29

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Police Officer’s Title VII Lawsuit

Vincent Jackson

12/29/2023

Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, Race Discrimination, Retaliation

A recent case from the Second Circuit presented an interesting fact pattern for law enforcement employers facing claims of discrimination by stereotype. In Hanks v. City of Syracuse, a black police officer who was denied an assignment to a prestigious gun violence task force brought suit for race discrimination under Title VII, hostile work environment, and retaliation. The District Court dismissed the case for failure to state a claim, which the...

Vincent Jackson

12/26/2023

Employment Discrimination, First Amendment Protections, Gender Identity, Religious Discrimination, Sexual Orientation, Virginia Employment Law

The Virginia Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in favor of a public school teacher who was terminated after refusing to use the preferred pronouns of a transgendered student. The case provides an interesting study into the continuing conflicts between LBGTQ rights under federal law and a renewed push for religious freedom. The plaintiff was a French teacher who had worked at the school for six years. Near the end of the 2017-18 school...

Vincent Jackson

11/09/2023

Agency Activity, COVID-19, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Religious Discrimination

In a recent amicus brief filed in the 8th Circuit, the EEOC has urged heightened protections for workers who object to mandatory vaccinations due to sincerely-held religious beliefs. The EEOC's amicus brief highlights the unique difficulties employers face when forced to accommodate a religious belief under Title VII. The case, Ringhofer v. Mayo Clinic Ambulance, involves two longtime employees who worked as a paramedic and registered nurse for...

Kollman & Saucier

10/24/2023

Employment Discrimination, Retaliation

Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision prohibits discrimination (retaliation) against employees and applicants because the individual “has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by [Title VII], or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under [Title VII].” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). Employees and applicants who oppose discrimination...

Darrell VanDeusen

10/12/2023

ADA, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Fitness For Duty Evaluations

Nearly everyone recognizes the Grateful Dead song “Casey Jones.” It was first performed live by the Dead on June 20, 1969, at Fillmore East in New York (it’s track 8 on Workingman’s Dead). It tells the true story of John Luther “Casey” Jones, from Cayce, Kentucky. Casey was a railroad engineer who drove a fast train and who died in 1900 when he collided with another train. A few days after the accident, Jones’s friend Wallace...

Darrell VanDeusen

10/09/2023

ADA, Employment Discrimination

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). And 2023 is the 33d anniversary of enactment of the ADA, which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. My blogs this week will focus on ADA issues. The choices are nearly limitless. Recall that, while the ADA was the first nationwide law to apply to private and public sector employers – like Title...

Vincent Jackson

09/29/2023

COVID-19, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden, Religious Discrimination

The impact of the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, which raised the standard for employers to accommodate religious exemptions, is beginning to be felt in lower courts. Gone are the days when an employer can lawfully disregard a religious accommodation if it imposes more than a de minimis cost on the business. With Groff, employers must now demonstrate that the burden of granting a religious accommodation for an employee...

Kollman & Saucier

09/19/2023

Employment Discrimination, Legislative Developments

Update - On October 7, 2023, Governor Newsom vetoed SB-403. In his veto message, Governor Newsom stated "[b]ecause discrimination based on caste is already prohibited under ... existing [protected class] categories, this bill is unnecessary." On September 5, 2023, the California legislature passed SB-403, sending it to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature. Largely expected to be signed by Gov. Newson, California is set to become the first...

Kollman & Saucier

09/12/2023

Employment Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Retaliation

Consistent treatment of similarly situated employees is one way in which employers can defend against claims of discrimination. Inconsistent treatment, however, can support allegations of discrimination. A recent decision from Maryland federal court provides an instructive example of how inconsistent enforcement of work rules and disciplining comparable employees differently can create problems under anti-discrimination laws. Jones v. City of...

Kollman & Saucier

08/30/2023

Employment Discrimination, Hiring Process, Immigration, National Origin

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s venture that designs, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecraft, faces a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice alleging discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and asylees. The complaint alleges SpaceX, under the guise of export laws and regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), used discriminatory hiring practices in...

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Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Police Officer’s Title VII Lawsuit

Virginia Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Teacher Who Was Fired Over Pronouns

EEOC Files Amicus Brief In Support Of Religious Accommodations For Refusing Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccinations

No Protected Activity, No Retaliation Claim

Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind: ADA Week continued

Its Disability Employment Awareness Month

Repercussions of Supreme Court’s Groff Decision Start Appearing In Religious Exemption Cases

California is Poised to Become the First State to Ban Caste Discrimination

Inconsistent Discipline Allegations Save Police Dispatcher’s Race Discrimination Claims

Discrimination Accusations by DOJ Rocket SpaceX to Spotlight…Yet again

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Category: Employment Discrimination

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