That escalated quickly. A university fired its HR director and asked him to return his work laptop. He refused for months. Campus police eventually obtained a felony arrest warrant. When the former employee finally showed up with the laptop, officers arrested him. He then sued for retaliation. TL;DR: The U.S.
Sometimes the accommodation request itself tells the whole story. In a recent Fourth Circuit Rehabilitation Act decision, a federal air marshal asked to stay in a ground-based role permanently after medical conditions prevented her from flying. But in doing so, she also acknowledged that she could not perform the
One employee tried exactly that. The Seventh Circuit explained why it didn’t work. TL;DR: An employee failed to return to work after her approved leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) expired. After the employer terminated her for failing to return, she attempted to retroactively report several
Can an employee secretly rack up overtime and sue for it later? The Fifth Circuit says not without proof that the employer knew or should have known about those hours. TL;DR: The Fifth Circuit affirmed a defense verdict in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime case because the employee
Some employers try. The Fourth Circuit just explained why that trick doesn’t work for these federal discrimination claims. TL;DR: The Fourth Circuit held that employers cannot contractually shorten the time employees have to file discrimination lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) or the
By now, you’ve likely seen coverage of the Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit challenging Starbucks’ DEI initiatives. The opinion’s value lies in its doctrinal clarity. It illustrates how established discrimination law applies when DEI-related practices are challenged — and what employers should consider to reduce legal risk when designing and
A manager allegedly makes racially inappropriate jokes. Months later, the company eliminates a position in a nationwide cost-cutting initiative and reduces an employee’s hours. So she sues for race discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. But she loses. TL;DR: The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment after a nationwide restructuring
If your FLSA exemption strategy depends on a minimum one- or two-day guarantee, this decision should get your attention. The Fifth Circuit just rejected that structure under the statute’s salary-basis test. TL;DR: To qualify for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employee
The job requirements were… a lot: craft-beer exams, choreography, flair tricks, social media posts, and a “weight proportional to height” standard. Oh, and a mechanical bull. Eighteen longtime bartenders said the whole thing skewed younger. The court said their lawsuit had a more basic problem. TL;DR: A New Jersey appellate
Many employers rely on hiring assessments to gauge fit. But what if those tools are viewed as unlawful lie detector tests? A recent Massachusetts ruling should give you pause before you rely on a “workstyle” assessment. TL;DR: A Massachusetts federal court denied a motion to dismiss and allowed a putative
Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced a new proposal on independent contractor classification. If finalized, the proposal would once again reshape how employers evaluate whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under federal law. TL;DR: The DOL’s proposal would rescind the 2024 independent contractor rule and
A federal court recently rejected an attempt to force a litigant to turn over information about her use of ChatGPT in a pending employment lawsuit. Yes. Information about her AI use. In a civil case, one side moved to compel “all documents and information concerning [the plaintiff’s] use of
A single slur can sink an employer. It can also survive summary judgment. Two recent federal decisions show why context — especially who said it and how — still controls. TL;DR: Two federal courts held that a single use of a slur was not enough to get a hostile work
At the British Academy Film Awards – better known as the BAFTAs, the U.K.’s version of the Oscars – a man with Tourette’s Syndrome interrupted the ceremony while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award, shouting a racial slur. That public moment raises a workplace question:
Two arguments show up in almost every termination lawsuit: that the employer’s reason changed, and that it didn’t follow its own policy. The Eleventh Circuit recently explained why neither argument, without more, is enough to get a case to a jury. TL;DR: In a recent Eleventh Circuit decision, the
Under basic contract law, yes. But thanks to the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, that may not be the end of the story. TL;DR: The New Jersey Appellate Division held that a mutual arbitration agreement was valid and enforceable, reversing a trial court that had voided it. But because the