Two court decisions came out last week that ought to scare the heck out of employers.

Both involved employers who seem to have been aware of their legal obligations and tried to comply. The employers lost their cases because they either didn't go far enough, or didn't pay enough attention to "optics."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPwrodxghrw

I'd like to talk about each of these ...

I am delighted to announce the launch of ConstangyTV's Close-Up on Workplace Law, a new video series on labor and employment law issues. We'll be offering these videos on a monthly basis, in addition to our newsletters and blog posts.

Our debut is about the evolving definition of sex discrimination under federal law. Host Leigh Tyson, a partner in our Atlanta Office, interviews Cara ...

Our friends at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have issued a Fact Sheet for young workers on religious discrimination in the workplace, which brought me back to the EEOC's older Q&A and Best Practices on religious discrimination, harassment, and accommodation.

The EEOC's guidance is solid, reasonable, and consistent with most (if not all) of the court decisions that I'm ...

A federal appeals court panel has come out with a decision interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year in Young v. UPS, and the result wasn't too good for the employer.

The Sheriff's Department of Ulster County, New York, provided light duty for employees with work-related injuries but didn't provide it for anyone else. Plaintiff Ann Marie Legg, a corrections officer at the ...

Who's been naughty and who's been nice in labor and employment law? Here are my picks for 2015. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

NAUGHTY!

The National Labor Relations Board, for being naughty in too many ways to mention. Its rules on employer handbook policies, including confidentiality and social media, are unrealistic and almost impossible for employers to legally follow ...

Last week I heard David Lopez, General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, speak about EEOC litigation developments at the annual North Carolina/South Carolina Labor and Employment Law conference.

The EEOC has been litigating like a house afire, so I knew you would want to hear what he had to say. Mr. Lopez - who reads this blog and likes it! - gave me permission to ...

Young v. UPS is ovah!

Law360 reported this morning that Peggy Young and United Parcel Service have settled their pregnancy discrimination/accommodation case that went to the Supreme Court, resulting in this decision from last March. The Supreme Court had found in Ms. Young's favor for the most part, but remanded the case so that the lower court could make findings applying the Supreme ...

This case may have some problems, but it's a good illustration of why employers need to be careful, post-Young v. UPS. Thanks very much to Bill Goren for sending it my way.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit last week in a federal court in Pennsylvania against Landis Communities (retirement communities), claiming that Landis unlawfully refused to accommodate the ...

Dear Americans with Disabilities Act,

How time flies -- you're already 25 years old! I have seen many lovely tributes to you this week, and a couple of my favorites are here and here. I hope you don't mind one more from me.

When President George H.W. Bush signed you into law in 1990, I had been practicing employment law for less than two years, so I feel like you and I grew up together.

I ...

Hey, EEOC, there's this newfangled technique known as "track changes." Look into it!

Last Thursday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued its amended guidance on pregnancy discrimination and accommodation in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Young v. UPS, issued in March 2015. The EEOC's original guidance was issued in July 2014, but now the ...