We have not one, but two new high-profile employment lawsuits that are worth following long-term: Former head football coach Steve Sarkisian's alcoholism-discrimination lawsuit against the University of Southern California, and the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against the Michigan House of Representatives by former aides to adulterous former legislators Todd ...

Chanukah starts at sundown this Sunday, and Christmas is only three short weeks away. Can you throw a workplace holiday party that won't result in a lawsuit? It has been ages since we've had a quiz. Let's do it!

For more on this topic, please listen to the webinar on holiday parties that I did yesterday with Laura Kerekes and the excellent people at ThinkHR. The replay is available here.

Last week, we talked about 20 things an employer should ask itself before terminating an employee. In the interests of fairness, here are 10 things that an employee should ask before suing an employer. You should know that I generally don't believe that lawsuits are the best way to resolve problems. (I realize that there are exceptions.)

BEFORE YOU GO ON, PLEASE READ THIS!!!! I ...

Bloomberg BNA reports that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had a good year in FY 2015, which ended September 30. The agency collected more than $526 million in relief in all types of cases, involving federal as well as private-sector employees. If you have the ambition to read all 106 pages of the agency's report, please be my guest.

For the rest of us, here are some ...

So you think you're ready to terminate an employee. Are you really?

Here are 20 questions that every employer should ask itself before going ahead with a termination. If you think I've missed anything, please feel free to add your own in the comments.

GETTING STARTED

No. 1. Is the employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement? If so, make sure that whatever you do is ...

Wednesday night the Los Angeles jury hearing the age and disability discrimination case of former sports columnist T.J. Simers came back with a verdict in his favor of $7.1 million, consisting of retro and future lost income, and retro and future pain and suffering. (The jury did not award punitive damages.)

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles ...

As I always say, "What do I know?"

Based on the information I had, I felt that this should have been a summary judgment case for the Los Angeles Times. But the jury in Los Angeles did not agree. Law360 (and some of our readers - thank you!) reports that the jury came back with a verdict for former sports columnist T.J. Simers in his age and disability discrimination case of $7.2 million. Mr ...

T.J. Simers, a well-known former sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is suing the Times for age and disability discrimination and is seeking $18 million. We're providing regular coverage and analysis of the jury trial, which has been going on for several weeks. If you are just joining us, you can find the links to my prior coverage of the trial at the end of this post.

Whatever ...

T.J. Simers, a well-known former sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is suing the Times for age and disability discrimination. We're providing regular coverage of the jury trial, which is expected to last about three more weeks. For the background on what the case is all about, go here. For the testimony of Mr. Simers' psychiatrist last  week, go here. For a roundup of all of ...

T.J. Simers, a well-known former sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is suing the Times for age and disability discrimination. We're providing regular coverage of the jury trial, which is expected to last about four more weeks. For the background on Mr. Simers' termination, go here. For the testimony of Mr. Simers' psychiatrist earlier this week, go here.

Duel of the ...