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A university’s likening of a disabled professor to a baseball player with a career-ending injury did not persuade a judge to dismiss the professor’s disability discrimination allegations. On the contrary, it showed that the employer may have fired the professor because of his disability, a federal judge said in Matland v. Loyola University of Chicago, No. […]
Retailer Toys “R” Us will pay $35,000 to settle allegations that it required a deaf applicant to provide her own interpreter for a job interview according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC filed suit earlier this year on behalf of Shakirra Thomas, alleging multiple Americans with Disabilities Act violations. According to the commission, Thomas […]
Wal-Mart is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that its refusal to hire pharmacists whose licenses have been suspended violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Wal-Mart recently implemented a policy of firing and refusing to hire pharmacy employees who have any history of adverse action against their licenses by a state pharmacy board, the suit […]
An employee’s refusal to provide acceptable return-to-work documentation after a medical leave of absence may be viewed as a voluntary resignation, even if that individual has a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This assertion helped the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirm a lower federal court’s summary judgment in favor […]
An employee’s attorney must pay $5,000 for omitting important information in an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. In Kempter v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. , No. 13-1036 (6th Cir. Aug. 26, 2013), the plaintiff’s attorney failed to mention that that his client, Cathie Kempter, had been permanently restricted […]
By Lindsey Taylor A few weeks ago, we reported on the recent decision in Baker v. Navistar Canada Inc., which confirmed that unionized employees aren’t able to bring employment claims to court. Rather, these claims must be brought within the framework of the special legal relationship between the union and the employer, either by way […]
by Mark I. Schickman I keep waiting for the day that employment discrimination claims disappear. We spend a ton of time training employees to prevent and avoid discriminatory conduct, and the proper behavior is pretty intuitive. So, logically, employment discrimination should have been eradicated, like polio and smallpox. It would be terrible for my business […]
Noting that the increasing number of employee retaliation claims in employment discrimination cases calls for the proper interpretation and implementation of statutory language, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 issued a 5-4 ruling that will likely make it easier for employers to fend off such claims. In University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. […]
The term “supervisor” is not to be taken lightly when determining the scope of employer liability in employment discrimination claims, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 24, the court held in a 5-4 decision that an employee is a “supervisor” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act only if he or she […]
By Marc Rodrigue Hiring a new employee can be a lengthy process, fraught with complex evaluations of skills, qualifications, and other attributes. The whole process must of course comply with applicable provincial and federal antidiscrimination laws. What people say during the process may provide evidence that a hiring decision is discriminatory. Where multiple people are […]