Employers may sometimes be faced with the need to get creative when their preferred methods for compensating workers don’t necessarily mesh neatly with statutory requirements. For example, balancing an interest in compensating sales workers solely on commission may sometimes present challenges when it comes to remaining compliant with the Fair…
Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog
Same-Sex Sexual Harassment and Title VII Litigation in Tennessee
While the most common version of workplace sexual harassment that most people visualize may be a male harassing a subordinate female, that is not the only form of sexual harassment that Title VII recognizes as actionable. Sexual harassment can be male-on-female, female-on-male, or same-sex. Additionally, the employees’ sexual orientation is…
Employer Wins FMLA Case Against Fired Employee Because the Employee Didn’t Prove that the Termination was Done Because of Her Leave
For employers, complicated issues can arise from deciding to terminate an employee who is out on leave. Depending on the circumstances, executing this termination may leave the employer open to a Family and Medical Leave Act lawsuit. In the case of one city worker in Michigan, the employer went ahead…
Eleventh Circuit Decided that a Municipal Employer Was Not Required to Accommodate Worker who Sought Permission to Telecommute
As an employer, sometimes a key to defending successfully against a disability discrimination claim is having thorough proof that you engaged a disabled employee clearly and consistently throughout the entire process regarding accommodations as well as essential job functions. Experienced Georgia disability discrimination attorneys can help you determine what your…
A Supervisor’s ‘Boorish, Callous, Condescending, or Overbearing’ Behavior Doesn’t Necessarily Make a Work Environment Hostile, Says Sixth Circuit
The boundary lines separating what is not actionable versus what is impermissible employment discrimination have continued to shift and evolve. Regarding a strongly pro-employee ruling a California court entered in 2016 interpreting that state’s employment discrimination statute, one author wrote that the new opinion was a warning to employers: don’t…
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Six-Figure Discrimination Verdict for Breastfeeding Mom ‘Constructively Discharged’ from Her Job
In an important new ruling on the issue of discrimination against breastfeeding employees, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s decision that a police department’s refusal to provide a breastfeeding officer with a satisfactory ballistic vest amounted to a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and in the…
Church Appeals $388K Award of Back Wages Owed to ‘Volunteers’ at Restaurant
The Fair Labor Standards Act provides protections for workers when it comes to minimum wage as well as overtime. The FLSA’s protections are wide-reaching and contain few exceptions. Nevertheless, a church attempted to evade the law by having its buffet restaurant staffed mostly by unpaid “volunteers.” The U.S. Department of…
A Georgia Woman Fired After Experiencing Period Leaks at Work Takes Her Sex Discrimination Case to the 11th Circuit
A potentially significant case that began here in Georgia is working its way through the federal court system. The case involved an employee who was fired after she twice experienced certain pre-menopause menstruation-related incidents while at work. A ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals could clarify whether these…
Tennessee Nurse Allowed to Pursue Title VII Case After Employer Allegedly Ignored or Minimized Multiple Instances of Sexual Harassment
Publicly available employment law court rulings can often be very helpful, both to employers and to employees. Unfortunately, many court case decisions are instructive in a “what not to do” sense, for one side or the other. Working with experienced Tennessee employment law attorneys is one way to make sure…
Court Refuses to Restrict Tennessee Truck Stop Worker’s Notices in FLSA Collective Action
A recent unpaid overtime case originating in Tennessee placed into conflict two competing legal concepts: an employee’s right to pursue collective action litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and an employer’s right to obtain employees’ waiver of their right to sue under the terms of contractual arbitration agreements. This…