Virginia Employer Law

Can Setting Pay Based on Prior Salary Equal Discrimination?

the situation An employer sets new employees’ salaries partly based on what they were making previously. If this results in a female employee being paid less than a male employee in the same position, does this support a claim of discrimination? the ruling Yes, this could result in liability under the Equal Pay Act, according […]

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Failing to Keep Time Records Can Come Back to Bite You

the situation An employer treats all employees it calls “managers” as exempt under the FLSA and so does not keep any time records for them.  If these employees later bring an action for unpaid overtime and a court agrees they were improperly classified as exempt, how could the employer’s inability to produce time records affect […]

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Can You Stop an Employee from Signing Emails “In Christ”?

the situation An employee for a state agency adds the phrase “In Christ” to his email signature.  The state agency tells him to stop and he eventually loses his job based on his refusal to stop using this phrase in his email valediction.  Can the employee bring a claim of religious discrimination? the ruling Maybe […]

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Is it Discrimination to Call Someone a Psycho?

the situation An employee is a veteran who suffers from PTSD.  His supervisor refers to him as a “psycho” to some of his co workers on a number of occasions. Could this constitute discrimination? the ruling It might.  A manufacturing company based in Wyoming recently settled a case with the EEOC which involved similar allegations, […]

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Can Ability to Work Overtime Be an Essential Function of a Job?

the situation An employee’s medical condition prevents him from being able to work overtime.  If the employer terminates him as a result, could this be disability discrimination? the ruling Maybe not.  A federal court in Texas recently granted an employer’s motion for summary judgment in a case involving this issue, finding that overtime was an […]

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Workplace Harassment Reporting—Is There an App for That?

the situation According to the EEOC and other sources, a large majority of all workplace harassment goes unreported.  Perhaps this is because employees don’t feel comfortable reporting workplace harassment.  But perhaps it is also because employers don’t always ask the right questions or utilize the best information-gathering methods. So how can artificial intelligence be used […]

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Does Refusing a Request to Work Remotely Equal Discrimination?

the situation An employee has to be on bed rest for a number of months because of a medical condition.  She requests that you allow her to telecommute.  But because her job duties involve a lot of in person presentations and face to face meetings, you deny this request and require her to take unpaid […]

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Can you Fire an Employee for Telling a Customer He is Gay?

the situation An employer terminates an employee after he talks openly about his sexual orientation with a customer.  Could this constitute discrimination under Title VII? the ruling The EEOC has taken the position that Title VII prohibits sexual orientation discrimination. But a number of federal appellate courts have disagreed.  Just yesterday, the Second Circuit ruled […]

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Can You Require Employees to Get a Flu Shot?

the situation An employer has a policy requiring all new employees to get a flu shot. After a job offer is extended to a certain applicant, she tells the employer that she has a religious objection to getting a flu shot.  If the employer revokes the job offer, is this discrimination? the ruling It might […]

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Does Calling Someone a B*tch Create a Hostile Work Environment?

the situation A female employee claims that a male co worker has repeatedly called her a stupid b*tch.  Can she successfully assert a claim for hostile work environment?

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