Category: BLOG
DEPARTMENT STORE CHAIN SETTLES SICK DAY LAWSUIT
Nationwide retailer Dillard’s recently settled an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by workers who say the department store forced them to provide detailed medical information in order to use their sick days. The class-action suit lasted for four years and was lead largely by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC says that the company forced …
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Historic Supreme Court Opinion Affirms Protections for LGBT Workers
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII’s prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sex also prohibit an employer from discriminating against an employee because of their sexual orientation or transgender status. Prior to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, only 21 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto …
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Employees Take a Stand – Telecommuting Can Be a Reasonable Accommodation
The landscape for workplaces is changing. As technology evolves, so too does the way we do our jobs. Many people can (and do) work just as effectively at home as they do at work. And a recent court case said just that. It held that a telecommuting arrangement could be a reasonable accommodation for a …
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A New Day in Court for Victims of Sexual Harassment: Kenneh v. Homeward Bound, Inc.
In an important decision on June 3, 2020, in the case Kenneh v. Homeward Bound, Inc.[1] the Minnesota Supreme Court held that Minnesota courts are not bound by restrictive federal court guidance in determining what constitutes sexual harassment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). For the past several decades, federal courts have applied an extremely …
DEPARTMENT STORE DINGED FOR PRYING INTO EMPLOYEE’S HEALTH PROBLEMS
Back in grade school, taking a sick day meant coming in the next day with a note for the teacher explaining the absence. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the national department store chain Dillards took that old-school practice too far when it required detailed information about employees’ medical conditions in return for sick leave. …
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DISPUTE OVER FIRING IN SILICON VALLEY SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE
Controversy continues to spark in the ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit brought earlier this year by a prominent partner at a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm. The junior partner initiated a lawsuit after years of alleged sexual harassment by a superior at the firm. The lawsuit has caused shockwaves across the tech industry, which had been widely …
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DEFECTIVE FENTANYL PATCH BLAMED FOR MAN’S DEATH
Patients who need pain medication can receive such treatment in a variety of ways. Pills and injections are perhaps the most common means of administering pain relief, but pain patches containing the drug fentanyl are also widely used. Fentanyl is significantly stronger than morphine, so it’s no wonder that it takes a careful patch design …
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EEOC: NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS ARE SKYROCKETING
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the number of discrimination complaints based on national origin has risen by 76 percent in just the past 15 years. In 2011, more than 11,800 complaints were filed alleging workplace discrimination based on English-speaking ability or having an accent. For example, a contract driver for FedEx in Utah, says …
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Alcoholism and Drug Addiction as a Disability
The current opioid epidemic afflicting our nation brings up complex issues regarding drug or alcohol addiction, employee rights, and what constitutes a disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) generally protect employees with alcoholism or drug addiction (as disabled) if the employees can perform the essential …
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DO ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWS PROTECT TEMPS?
During the economic downturn, many Minnesota workers may have turned to temporary employment or staffing agencies to find work. Temporary and contract workers often have different benefits, contracts, and responsibilities than permanent employees, but do they have different employee rights in the workplace? Both state and federal laws protect employees from being treated unfairly on the basis …
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