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Eighth Circuit Remands Damages Decision to Jury in FMLA Case

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/14/2015
Disability & Leave
The Eighth Circuit has held that factual disputes require a damages award in an FMLA case be reviewed by a jury. Wages v. Stuart Mgmt Co., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13942 (8th Cir. Aug. 10, 2015). Ena Wages was a caretaker at Woodridge Apartment Homes a property owned by Stuart Management Corporation (StuartCo.). Her positon involved daily tasks such as “vacuuming, cleaning, mopping, washing windows, and dusting.” Wages had been working since...
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Third Circuit Holds Suspension with Pay Not Adverse Action

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/14/2015
Employment Discrimination
The Third Circuit has held that a suspension with pay does not constitute an adverse employment action. Jones v. SEPTA, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14094 (3rd Cir. August 12, 2015). A common solution for an employer who is investigating an employee for misconduct in the workplace is to place the employee on a temporary paid suspension. This was the case for former administrative assistant Michelle Jones of the Revenue Operations at Southeastern...
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Fourth Circuit Rejects FLSA’s “Manager Rule” in Title VII Cases

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
08/12/2015
Employment Discrimination
Neil DeMasters was an employee assistance program (EAP) consultant for the Carilion Clinic’s behavioral health unit. His job was to listen to an employee’s concerns and suggest ways in which the employee might try to resolve them.   After five years in this job, DeMasters was fired in the aftermath of advising (and supporting) an employee who complained about sexual harassment by another employee. DeMasters sued, claiming that he was fired in...
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New Mexico State Courts Should Decide How To Interpret State Employment and Marijuana Laws

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
08/10/2015
Medical/Legal Marijuana
Augustine Stanley filed a lawsuit in New Mexico state court alleging that his employer discriminated against him when it fired him as a detention officer because of his state-authorized used of medical marijuana.  Stanley’s original complaint, based only on state law, alleged that the New Mexico Human Rights Act required his employer to accommodate his medical marijuana use.  Medical marijuana use is illegal under federal law, which the U.S....
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UPS Manager’s Disability Does Not Excuse Perceived Racist Comment

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
08/09/2015
Disability & Leave, Employment Discrimination, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden
Christopher Schaffhauser, a white male, sued United Parcel Services (UPS) after he was demoted from manager to supervisor for saying he would hit an African-American coworker so hard it would "knock the black off him." Schaffhauser’s lawsuit asserted race discrimination and a failure to accommodate his medical condition.  This note focuses on the ADA failure to accommodate claim. The Court described the circumstances leading to Schaffhauser’s...
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Ledbetter Act Does Not Extend Time to Bring Demotion Claims

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/31/2015
Employment Discrimination
In litigation, as in many other parts of life, timing is everything. In a post earlier this week, we discussed the issues surrounding lawsuits filed after the resolution of EEOC and state agency charges. A similar issue came before a New York federal court recently and was met with a similar outcome: a plaintiff who files a claim too late has nobody but him or herself to blame. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (“Ledbetter Act”) was...
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Plaintiff Bears Burden of Maintaining Correct Address with EEOC

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/29/2015
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
An individual who files a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or similar state agency is required to provide the agency with his or her contact information, including a mailing address and phone number, so that the agency can notify him or her of any developments, including the outcome of the charge. Current regulations require the individual to notify the agency “of any change in address and . . . any prolonged absence from that current address...
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Maryland District Court Holds Employer's Failure to Reassign Disabled Employee to a New Position Was Not Disability Discrimination

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/24/2015
Disability & Leave
It was a victory for employers this week when Maryland’s federal district court determined that an employer is not obligated to accommodate a disabled employee who cannot perform the essential functions of his job by reassigning the employee to a new position that eliminates the essential functions of the former position. Raiford v. Md. Dep't of Juvenile Servs., No. 8:12-cv-03795, D. Md. (7/21/15). Plaintiff Raiford was a Resident Advisor (RA)...
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EEOC Rules Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation Violates Title VII

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/23/2015
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
An employee alleges a claim for discrimination based on sexual orientation but sexual orientation isn’t mentioned under Title VII. Does the employee have a viable Title VII claim? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recent opinion in Complainant v. Foxx, E.E.O.C., Appeal No. 0120133080 (7/16/15), the answer is “Yes.” In the view of the EEOC, “allegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation...
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