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Does Employee’s Falsification of Employment Application Automatically Defeat Retaliation Claim?

the situation An employee complains that he is being harassed based on his sexual orientation and the fact that his partner is African American. Not long after he lodges this complaint, the employer discovers that although the employee stated on his job application that he graduated from community college, he had not actually graduated, but […]

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Can You Cut a Pregnant Employee’s Shifts to Avoid Unpredictability?

the situation A restaurant has an automatic scheduling system which allows employees to input their availability and then generates a schedule accordingly a few weeks in advance.  One of the restaurant’s servers is pregnant and quickly approaching her due date, although has stated her intention to work until she has the baby. In fear of […]

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Does Time on Mobile Device Support a Claim for Unpaid Overtime?

the situation You have employees who are doing work after hours on their mobile devices. Although you have a procedure for submission of any overtime worked, these employees do not report these hours as time worked. Can they bring a claim against you for unpaid overtime under the FLSA, arguing that you should have known […]

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“Caring Supervisor” or Sexual Harassment?

the situation A supervisor has a history of making some inappropriate statements to a female employee under his direction, including commenting on her physical appearance.  When the female employee ends up facing possible disciplinary action, the supervisor meets with her.  He puts his hand on hers, tells her he doesn’t want to lose her and […]

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Is Refusing to Allow an Employee to Work From Home a Violation of the ADA?

the situation You have an employee who is responsible for overseeing a certain worksite.  She ends up suffering an injury which causes her to be unable to make the commute into work. You allow her to work from home for a period of time, but at some point conclude that you really need someone in […]

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Is a Claim that an Applicant is Overqualified a Defense to an ADEA Claim?

the situation You are trying to fill an unskilled laborer position. One applicant for the position is a former employee with decades of experience in a position that involves more skill and higher pay. You end up deciding to hire another younger applicant, concluding that the former employee is overqualified and will not be satisfied […]

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Applying the Administrative Exemption under the FLSA

  the situation One of the requirements of the administrative exemption of the FLSA is that an employee must have as his or her primary duty “office or non-manual work related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers.”  So what exactly does this mean? Do mortgage underwriters meet […]

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What if You Don’t Agree with a Religious Objection?

the situation You decide to implement a new time tracking system which involves the use of biometric hand scanners by employees to scan their right hands to clock in or out for a shift.  One of your long time employees claims that he cannot use this kind of hand scanner because its use would conflict […]

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Is it Retaliation to Fire A Supervisor For a Fabricated Sexual Harassment Report?

the situation One of your supervisors reports that another employee has been sexually harassing several women working under him. Your HR director interviews each of these women and none back up this story. You then terminate the reporting supervisor based on her false report. Is this retaliation in violation of Title VII?

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My Employee Badmouthed me on Glassdoor—Can I Fire Him?

the situation One of your employees says some negative things about your company on Glassdoor.com. You end up firing him shortly after his bad comments.  Does this give him a basis for a retaliation claim? the ruling Depending on the content of the posts, you could be looking at a retaliation claim under these circumstances.  […]

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