Mother's Day is long past, but you'd never know it -- in employment law, this has been the Week of the Moms. Here's a roundup - tell us what you think!

First up: Title VII's ban on pregnancy discrimination includes discrimination based on lactation or the need to express milk. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit* has held in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity ...

A court says veganism might be a "religion" requiring accommodation, a school district gets nailed for failing to engage in the "interactive process" under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and yet another employer makes an avoidable and very expensive mistake with a severance package. Fun and games!

Is veganism a religion? Could be. A federal judge in Ohio has refused to dismiss a ...

This issue has been coming up a lot lately: What should an employer do when an employee claims that her co-workers' fragrances make her sick?

(I'm not being sexist here -- every time I've had it come up, it was a woman complaining about women's fragrances. For the record, men's fragrances can be annoying, too. When they're not completely irresistible.)

Allow me to specify what I mean by ...

The Chinese New Year is almost upon us. In honor of the Year of the Dragon, and in fond farewell to bilingual Jon Huntsman, who announced that he was withdrawing from the presidential race (hmm . . . speaking Mandarin in a Republican debate? . . . not sure that's a choice I'd have made), we have enough employment and HR blog posts to get you through the entire new year's season without repeating ...

It's been another zany week or so in the world of labor and employment law, rivalling Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo. Here are a few items that jumped out at me. (Each subhead is a line from a Marx Brothers movie or the title of a Marx Brothers movie. Answers at the end.)

"Hurry up, or you'll be late for jail!" Pepsi Beverages (formerly Pepsi Bottling Co.) agreed to a pre-litigation settlement ...

It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

In any event, that must be what the American Medical Association is thinking. The organization took it on the chin this week in a case involving the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The case is well worth a post-mortem because of what it teaches employers about "causation" in retaliation and protected concerted ...

As they said at Bunker Hill, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"

Last week, I wrote about early motions to dismiss employment lawsuits under Rule 12(b)(6) and questioned whether they were always the best strategy for the employer. Most of last week's post simply described the differences between a motion to dismiss, a motion for summary judgment, and a trial, as ...

Human Resources and in-house counsel, please consider this a legal "consumer report." Remember - we offer a "no legalese" guarantee, or your money back!

My fellow employment lawyers, is that Rule 12(b)(6) motion really necessary?

I've spent this week reviewing federal and state labor and employment law decisions for a Bar Association program I'll be presenting at the end of the ...