Archive for the ‘Discrimination & Harassment’ Category
Employer’s Required Fitness-For-Duty Exam Did Not Violate ADA
The employee worked as a customer service representative at a call center for the employer. He was responsible for monitoring the performance of frontline call center associates, and regularly worked from home. One day, he attended a meeting at the office with his manager for a routine one-on-one discussion about his job performance. During the [...]
Court Finds Epileptic Employee Not “Qualified Individual” Under ADA or Missouri Law
A mammography technician with epilepsy had suffered numerous seizures at work. The technician suffered epileptic seizures unpredictably, and they caused her to lose orientation and muscle control, which led to falls and injuries. The risk of injury to the technician and patients was too great, and the employer placed her on paid administrative leave. The [...]
Seventh Circuit: Physician’s State-Court Suit Challenging Denial of Privileges Precluded Subsequent Federal Discrimination Claim
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has reminded one Illinois physician that he only gets one bite at the apple when it comes to federal discrimination claims – and the case presents a unique and potentially powerful new defense for employers of physicians and other regulated professionals. The case, Dookeran v. County of Cook, No. [...]
Third Circuit Upholds Termination of Employee for Dishonesty About Drug Addiction on a Post-Offer Medical Questionnaire
A hospital-employer hired the employee as a security guard. On his post-offer medical questionnaire, the employee affirmatively stated that he had never suffered from drug or alcohol addiction in the past nor participated in a drug and alcohol treatment program. Later, the employee suffered an injury at work and reported to the hospital’s emergency department. [...]
“Insomnia” Insufficient Basis for ADA and FMLA Claims
In this case, the attorney claimed that her employer’s denial of her reduced-work-schedule request constituted both an unlawful failure-to-accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and unlawful interference with her right to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In 2006, after consulting physicians, the attorney was told that she was suffering from fatigue, sleep deprivation [...]
Supervisor Who Told Employee She Was “Too Old” Not Responsible For Firing
A 61 year-old employee’s supervisor made age-related comments over a four month period. Later, while informing the employee that she was being fired, the supervisor suggested that the employee was “too old” for the job. The employee sued her former employer for age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and [...]
Isolated Age Comment Insufficient to Overcome Employer’s Legitimate Reason for Layoff
The technology company, which manufactured components for large-scale computer networks and data storage systems, employed a team of sales account managers. This particular account manager was successful in generating significant revenue for the company over the course of several years. The Company began to make changes to procedures and started to cut costs due to [...]
Additional Reason for Failure to Promote Is Not Indicative of Pretext for Discrimination
A member of the Air Force was denied four promotions to Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief of Administration during a four-year period and sued his employer fire department alleging that these decisions violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). While there was sufficient evidence that the employee’s military service was a motivating [...]
School District Prevails in Title VII Retaliation Case Filed by Basketball Coach
A high school girls varsity basketball coach sued a school district for gender discrimination after the school failed to hire her as the boys varsity basketball coach. The court found in favor of the coach and ordered the district to hire her as varsity coach for both the boys and girls basketball teams. Around the [...]
EEOC Findings Not Dispositive in Employee’s Discrimination Suit
Just because the EEOC finds that an employee was subjected to a retaliatory termination does not mean an automatic win in the courts. The plaintiff-employee in this case learned that the hard way. In Sellers v. BNSF Railway, the employee claimed that she was terminated in retaliation for filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against her employer [...]
