Does smoke always equal fire in harassment cases?
Consider the following, taken from Briggs v. University of Detroit-Mercy (E.D. Mich. 5/27/14) , and then let’s talk. Plaintiff Carlos Bri...
It shouldn’t be newsworthy when a court applies “common sense” to resolve a dispute
By Jon Hyman
I’d like to think that after 8-plus years of blogging, I’ve banked some capital as one who offers a common-sense approach to the often craz...
Insubordination or protected conduct? 6th Circuit has the answer.
By Jon Hyman
Is there a line that separates an employee’s insubordinate outburst from an expression of protected conduct? Yazdian v. ConMed Endoscopic T...
EEOC announces that Title VII treats all LGBT discrimination as unlawful sex discrimination
By Jon Hyman
Last week, the EEOC released a historic decision on same-sex employment discrimination rights [pdf] . The EEOC confirmed that, in its opinio...
WIRTW #375 (the “post-it” edition)
By Jon Hyman
Have you heard the one about the intern fired after hiding an offensive message for his employer buried within the stack of post-it notes he...
Who is an employee? DOL has answers in guidance on independent-contractor status
By Jon Hyman
I’ve written a lot in the past year about the distinction between employees and independent contractors under federal wage-and-hour laws ( h...
Recordkeeping policies: how long is too long?
By Jon Hyman
Yesterday we examined a recordkeeping issue specific to potential adverse impact claims under Title VII. Today, I want to cast the net a li...