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 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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So What Exactly Can You Say About a Terminated Employee?

the situation You have an employee who is struggling to meet performance goals.  After trying to address the deficiencies in his performance, you end up concluding that it just is not a good fit. You give the employee a termination notice, deciding that it is preferable to just cut your losses.  So what exactly can […]

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FMLA Retaliation Claim Even Where Actual Decisionmaker Didn’t Know About Use of Leave?

the situation An employee requests and is approved for FMLA leave based on a mental health condition.  While she is out, she accumulates a backlog of work. According to her supervisor, after she returns, she continues to have performance problems, including not meeting certain metrics and otherwise just not meeting his standards.  Based on a […]

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Calling Your Boss a Nasty Motherf**ker is Protected Activity?

the situation An employee has a problem with the way he has been treated by a supervisor and decides to share his disdain for him on Facebook—calling the supervisor a “nasty motherf**ker” and also saying “F*ck his mother” and “f*ck his whole family!”  Is this not a proper basis for termination?

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Despite Serious Documented Performance Issues, Reference to Medical Leave May Mean FMLA Retaliation Claim

the situation An employee begins working as a sales consultant and from the beginning, has serious performance issues. She is given a number of warnings and even placed on an improvement plan. After she receives a final warning threatening termination if her performance does not improve, she submits a request for FMLA leave for some […]

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Firing Six Weeks After Charge Enough to Show Retaliation?

the situation An employee files an EEOC charge, claiming she was discriminated against based on her race. Because of some ongoing performance issues, you put her on a performance improvement plan three weeks later. Following the issuance of another written warning, you decide to terminate her, about six weeks after her charge was filed. Can […]

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Half a Million Dollars for Pregnancy Discrimination Claim Against Chipotle

the situation One of your employees announces she is pregnant. Not long after, she complains that ever since she announced her pregnancy, her manager has been treating her differently, including not allowing her to take bathroom breaks. What sort of exposure do you have?

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Is Advance Notice of Termination Required?

the situation Based on your current business needs, you decide to terminate a long-standing employee.  You make the termination effective immediately.  Does the employee have a right to claim that she should have been given advance notice of her termination?

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Did She Quit or was She Fired? In FMLA Context, Could Mean Liquidated Damages

the situation Your HR Director is under a lot of stress—both based on some personal issues and some issues between her and the CEO. According to the CEO, during a heated conversation, she quits. She claims she just told the CEO that she was thinking of quitting and that she was actually fired when she […]

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