On October 5, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit held in Villarreal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., that an unsuccessful job applicant cannot sue a prospective employer under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for a disparate impact claim.  In so holding, the Eleventh Circuit reverses its November 30, 2015 decision holding the opposite.

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By:  Labor and Employment Group

Don’t deny it: you scroll through your social media feeds past the mundane photos, click-bait, and “humble brags” in search of explosive drama. Eventually, you might land on a status update from one of the reliable “oversharers” on your friends list (we all have them). She was just terminated from her job and decided to air her grievances about her former employer in her status update. Would you be surprised if you saw the company shoot back at her from its own social media page? While it is pretty standard to hear about individual employees making poor choices with respect to their social media posts (an employee who is friends with his or her boss on social media is usually involved), it is less common to hear about employers oversharing on company social media pages.

The influence of social media is undeniable, and more companies are actively using it to market themselves. Last week, a well-known internet company that publishes crowd-sourced reviews and information on local businesses found itself in the midst of a social media fueled public relations nightmare. An ex-employee called out the company on a blog by alleging that the company was inflexible toward her situation as a single mother and that the company ultimately terminated her because she asked for leave to care for her boyfriend while he was recovering from a brain injury.
Continue Reading Social Media Fail: Sometimes Even Employers Memorialize Bad Decisions on the Internet