Although many employees describe what they face at work as a “hostile work environment,” frequently what they are experiencing or observing is evidence of another type of workplace discrimination. It is therefore important for employees who believe they are experiencing discrimination in the workplace—and the lawyers who represent them—to look closely and carefully at all of the facts. Such careful…
In today’s political climate, we have all seen how heated political debates can get. A perfectly pleasant Thanksgiving dinner with family can instantly turn hostile once the topic of politics comes up. But what happens when that political fervor carries over into the workplace? Can a private sector employee be fired for his or her political beliefs or political affiliation?…
On May 9, 2018, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio signed the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act (the “Act”), amending the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to proactively combat sexual harassment in the workplace. The Act, passed by the New York City Council in the wake of the #MeToo movement, creates new obligations for NYC-based employers to…
Under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave every year to attend to certain medical and family matters and up to 26 weeks to care for a family member injured during military service. Although the FMLA undoubtedly has made it easier for many employees to balance job requirements and family…
In a belated celebration of Valentine’s Day, I want to tell a love story. But don’t worry, this won’t get mawkish. This is a story of modern love, of commercial love, of a four-letter (sometimes, three-letter) slogan (“love” or “LUV”) perverted to discriminatory ends. (This also an aviation tale, and if you haven’t read my colleague Russell Kornblith’s recent post…
Absent a contract of employment, “at-will employment” is the predominant employment relationship in the United States. Under the system, an employer can fire an employee for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. However, an employee may not be fired for an illegal reason, such as racial, gender, or other types of discrimination forbidden by law. And an…
Revelations that Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly entered into serial confidential settlements with women who claimed they were sexually harassed in the workplace have brought a great deal of attention to non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in settlement agreements. Indeed, this increased attention has lead lawmakers in certain states to propose changes in the law to address concerns about secrecy,…
The short answer is quite possibly. In many cases, law partners may be regarded as “employees” under Title VII, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws – and therefore eligible to sue their firms for employment discrimination, retaliation, and similar unlawful treatment. The issue of whether a law partner is an “employee”…
Click here to read the Chinese version of this post “At-will employment” is the predominant employment relationship in the United States. Under at-will employment, an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one (i.e. discrimination, retaliation, etc.), or for no reason. However, in order to minimize the possibility of being sued for wrongful…
In “Is there a legal case for work-life balance?” published last week in Fortune, Caroline Fairchild raises the theory that federal anti-discrimination laws may mandate that workplaces have work-life balance. As she correctly notes, U.S. employment laws prohibit company policies that disproportionately affect one group unless the policies have a “business necessity.” For example, an employer could not make passing a test…