In the first case of its kind before a federal circuit court, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held recently that an employer violated Title VII for terminating a female employee who underwent in vitro fertilization treatments. To read the opinion in Hall v. Nalco Company, click here.
The employer terminated the employee citing “absenteeism—infertility treatments.”
The U.S. Senate yesterday approved the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) by unanimous consent, making enactment of the ADAAA likely. As the Stoel Rives World of Employment previously reported, the ADAAA would overturn several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that many critics claim have too narrowly interpreted the Americans with Disabilities Act‘s coverage. To read
Here’s a shocker out of Illinois: a federal district court held that a retail chain’s store manager calling a department head "Grandma" was evidence of age discrimination. In McDonald v. Best Buy Co., the plaintiff alleged she was demoted and forced out of her job because of her age in violation of the Age Discrimination in
Here’s something to be watching: a bill currently winding its way through Congress is likely to bring significant changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill, knows as the ADA Amendments Act ("ADAAA"), will greatly broaden the scope of the ADA.
Some highlights of the ADAAA:
Plaintiffs suing their employers under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") may recover lost wages, but they may not recover emotional distress damages. What if an employee misses work because of emotional distress that is caused by a wrongful denial of FMLA leave? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that such damages are a form of lost wages and therefore may be recovered under FMLA.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Affirms “Emotional Distress Damages” Caused by Denial of FMLA Leave
Last night I was riding home and was almost run off the street by a woman reading a novel while driving, when I remembered: Effective July 1, 2008, new laws in California and Washington prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Drivers may, however, use a cell phone if the communication is made
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether employers may be liable under Title VII for not giving female employees full credit for pregnancy leaves in calculating retirement benefits. AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, U.S., No. 07-543.
The Ninth Circuit ruled last August that AT&T violated Title VII by calculating the female
Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued four labor and employment-related decisions; none, however, were big surprises or substantial changes in the law.
First, in Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, the Court held 8-0 that an employer defending an Age Discrimination in Employment Act case bears the burden of proving a "reasonable factors other than age" or "RFOA" affirmative defense. Truth be told, most defense lawyers have assumed that it was the employer’s burden to prove the affirmative defense; this decision simply confirms that assumption.
Continue Reading Big Day at the Supreme Court: Four New L&E Decisions
Gattaca “genetic testing” bush “ethan hawke” “uma thurman”
Continue Reading No Gattaca? Bush Signs Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act