Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Transsexual’s Volunteer Status Did Not Bar Her Sex Bias Claims

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
04/15/2014
Employment Discrimination
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland held that a former U.S. Capitol Police sergeant’s volunteer status did not bar her sex bias claim against the Howard County, Maryland Police Department (the “County”).   Finkle v. Howard Cnty, No. JKB-13-3236 (D. Md. Apr. 10, 2014).  The fact that the County rejected Tomi Boone Finkle (“Finkle”) for a position with a volunteer patrol did not exclude her from coverage on the...
read more

Reasonable Accommodation Obligation Does Not Give Deaf Employee Right to Be a Bully

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
04/09/2014
Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination
A recent opinion out of  the Fourth Circuit  Court of Appeals provides a good reminder:  sometimes, no matter what their "protected status," an employee’s behavior warrants dismissal.  In Pearlman v. Pritzker, No. 13-1563 (4th Cir. Apr. 3, 2014), the Fourth Circuit concluded that a federal agency lawfully fired an insubordinate employee who had a "black-list" and was known for angry outbursts. Michael Pearlman was hired by the National Oceanic...
read more

Gate of Heaven Closes Out Discrimination Claim By Raising Ministerial Exemption

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
03/22/2014
Employment Discrimination, Religious Discrimination
Vickie Fisher was employed as the Co-Director of Gate of Heaven Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery owned and operated by Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  In fall 2010, a cemetery employee complained to the Archdiocese that Fisher and her compatriot were part of a scheme to sell damaged grave markers for scrap metal and distribute the cash proceeds to Gate of Heaven employees.  It was also alleged Fisher was using profanity in her dealings with employees. ...
read more

Court Rejects Hotel Room Discrimination Claim Without Reservations

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/14/2014
Employment Discrimination, Religious Discrimination
Business trips are a fact of life for many employees.  Reserving hotel rooms for these trips is commonplace: either the employee or a company representative contacts the hotel, and the hotel then arranges a room for that guest based on its current availability.  In spite of this, a disgruntled individual recently tried to sue his former company based on little more than the room he was assigned during one such trip in Rahman v. Crystal Equation,...
read more

Catholic Diocese Loses Its First Battle In Ministerial Exception Case

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/11/2014
Employment Discrimination
As the controversial recent bills that were proposed but ultimately not enacted in Arizona and several other states indicate, there is a passionate debate ongoing between civil rights advocates and the religious freedom movement.  Another example of this conflict is the “ministerial exception,” which rests at the intersection between federal employment discrimination laws, on one hand, and the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment on the...
read more

Employee Who Fails to Return from Vacation Has No Claim of Discriminatory Termination

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
03/03/2014
Employment Discrimination
In Andrews v. CBOCS West, Inc., No. 12-3399 (7th Cir. Feb. 14, 2014), the Seventh Circuit addressed an employer’s practice of automatically terminating an employee who did not return to work after taking paid vacation leave.  The Court affirmed summary judgment for the employer on the employee’s claims of discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and ADEA, reasoning that the claims failed because the employee did not suffer an adverse...
read more

Scales (Of Justice) Tip In Favor Of Employer On Overweight Employee's ADA Claims

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
02/19/2014
Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, obesity
The trend on overweight, obese and other weight-afflicted individuals claiming some category of employment discrimination (almost always disability-based) continues to increase.   There have been mixed results so far with the EEOC, not surprisingly, doing its part to ensure that the overweight individuals of America are considered disabled by one means or another.  Thankfully, some of the courts that have been presented with the chance to dig into...
read more

Prompt Handling Of Sex Harassment Complaint Keeps Safeway Safe

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
02/18/2014
Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment
Employers are very familiar with the legal requirement and legal advice to take prompt action to investigate and respond properly to complaints of workplace harassment.   In a recent decision issued from the federal district court in Arizona last week, Safeway's prompt and effective handling of a teen-aged cashier's complaint of sexual harassment precluded a liability finding against the supermarket chain. In McCormack v. Safeway Stores, Inc., No....
read more

Fourth Circuit FindsTemporary Impairment Covered by ADAAA

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
02/01/2014
Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination
It was pretty clear under the ADA that a temporary impairment was not a covered “disability.” But that was before Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (the “ADAAA”) in 2008, expanding the scope of protection.   Now, the Fourth Circuit has become the first appellate court to address the issue of “temporary impairment” under the ADAAA. Summers v. Altarum Inst., Corp., (4th Cir. January 23, 2014). Reversing...
read more

Fourth Circuit Overturns $1.6 Million Dollar Verdict in Race Discrimination Case

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
01/23/2014
Employment Discrimination
When the Washington Bullets (remember them?) won the 1978 NBA Championship, Coach Dick Motta inspired fans with the phrase "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings."  That phrase came to mind this week when I read about a decision reversing a $1.6 million dollar verdict against CSX Transportation in a race discrimination case.  Bennett v. CSX Transportation, 4th Cir. No. 12-2477 ( unpublished 1/21/14). In Bennett, an African-American former...
read more
Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.