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Drop and Give Me Thirty (Or Fourteen If You’re a Woman)—Is This Discrimination?

the situation Physical fitness is a necessary component for certain jobs in your organization and so you develop a physical fitness assessment for prospective employees. Based on a thorough analysis of gender norms and abilities, you determine specific standards—which are different for men and women. A male is unable to complete one of the tasks […]

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Transgender Employee Fired for Clear Policy Violation—Is Employer Still At Risk For Title VII Claim?

the situation An employee informs you that she is going through a gender transition and then a few months later you catch her sleeping on the clock. After you terminate her (just like you have terminated others who engaged in similar conduct), she claims that you discriminated against her based upon her sex in violation […]

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Exotic Dancers—Independent Contractors or Employees?

the situation A private club enters into independent contractor agreements with a number of exotic dancers which state that they can choose the days they work, along with their dance routines and songs. The agreements also provide that the dancers keep all the tips they earn while performing and half of each “couch dance” fee […]

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Millions in Damages for Unpaid Bathroom Breaks?

the situation Your policy requires that each employee log in and out of his computer whenever taking any sort of break. Employees are then paid just for the time they are logged into their computers. Is this okay?

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Can a Temp From a Staffing Company Bring a Title VII Claim Against You?

the situation You engage a temporary staffing company to provide you with some temporary laborers to help during a particularly busy time period. Under the arrangement with the staffing company, you pay the staffing company only and they pay the temps. You are not responsible for setting the pay rate, paying the taxes, or getting […]

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Your Employees Agreed to Comply with the Employee Handbook—So Can’t You Hold Them to it?

the situation Your employee handbook requires that employees submit all employment issues to an internal dispute resolution process and then arbitration and provides that employees waive all rights to bring a lawsuit and to a jury trial. You provide a copy of the employee handbook to all employees and require that they sign a statement […]

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Applicants with more than five years of experience need not apply. Could this be a problem?

the situation You have a job vacancy—and it is one that you think best suits an applicant without a ton of experience. In an effort to narrow the field to just those candidates who fit the bill in terms of experience, you post the vacancy online and include as one of the qualifications that the […]

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Assumptions About Applicant’s Medical Condition Can Lead to ADA Claim

the situation After receiving a job offer, an applicant reveals that he takes medication for anxiety and high blood pressure.   In light of the type of the position he would hold, you have some concerns that his medical condition could affect his ability to do his job and so you end up rescinding the job […]

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Pregnant Employee? Reassignment of Duties Could Land You in Hot Water

the situation A female employee whose job involves some potentially dangerous activities announces she is pregnant. Thinking you are doing her and her unborn child a favor, you reassign some of her more unsafe duties to other employees. Could you end up facing a discrimination claim?

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Unpaid Bonus Could Mean Wrongful Discharge Claim

the situation Following a mostly positive performance review, you tell an employee that he has earned a $10,000 bonus. The employee later seeks payment for the bonus. Ultimately, the employee is terminated before he is ever paid the bonus. Does he have a claim for wrongful discharge under Virginia law? the ruling A Virginia Circuit […]

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