Discrimination

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The California Supreme Court has finally settled the troubling issue of whether intentional discrimination must be shown to prove a disability access claim under the California Unruh Act. In Munson v. Del Taco, Inc., the Court decided the issue after it was certified to the California Supreme Court from the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit because of the conflicting decisions in federal and state courts.
Continue Reading A DISABILITY ACCESS CLAIM UNDER THE UNRUH ACT DOES NOT REQUIRE A SHOWING OF INTENTIONAL DISCRIMINATION

The United States Supreme Court has issued its ruling in the Ricci, et. al. v. Destefano, et. al. case (referred to by the press as the “reverse” discrimination case that U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, decided with other Court of Appeal justices). Essentially the case stands for the rule that an employer may not manipulate (adjust for race conscious reasons) the results of a legitimate, facially neutral, and job-related promotional examination to obtain a more diverse workforce absent a showing that there is a strong basis for the employer to believe that if it does not manipulate the results it will be exposed to disparate impact liability (unintentional discrimination liability based on the negative effect an otherwise neutral policy or practice may have on a protected class).
Continue Reading AN EMPLOYER’S DILEMMA: DISPARATE TREATMENT VERSUS DISPARATE IMPACT

In the recent case of Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., the United States Supreme Court held that a plaintiff must prove that his/her age was the “but for” cause of the adverse employment action they claim was discriminatory (e.g. demotion). Plaintiff was 54 years old when his employer reassigned him from his position as a claims administration director to a claims project coordinator. Many of his responsibilities in the director position were transferred to one of his subordinates who was in her early 40’s. Although Plaintiff’s compensation was not reduced, he believed that his transfer to the coordinator position was a demotion and filed an age discrimination claim under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Continue Reading AGE MUST BE THE “BUT FOR” CAUSE FOR ALLEGED EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

In his first significant act as President in the labor and employment arena, President Obama effectively overturned the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. by signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (“Ledbetter Act”) into law this Thursday. The main thrust of the Ledbetter Act is that it…

In 2002, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (Metro), began looking into rumors of sexual harassment by one of its employees, Gene Hughes. A member of Metro’s human resources department asked plaintiff Vicky Crawford (a 30-year Metro employee) whether she had witnessed any of Hughes’ “inappropriate behavior.” Crawford, who was not the subject…