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Employment Law

FGCU settles age discrimination case

04/01/2008
Florida Gulf Coast University may pay as much as $650,000 to settle an age and gender discrimination lawsuit with Johnny McGaha, former dean of the college of professional studies. When he was demoted to a professorship in 2005, McGaha, 64, said the move was retaliation …

Wage-and-Hour suits are hot

04/01/2008
Wage-and-hour lawsuits are growing exponentially, according to the fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report from national law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP. The U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida led the way with more wage-and-hour filings than any other federal jurisdictions …

Golden Corral faces harassment suit

04/01/2008
Four former employees are suing Raleigh, N.C.-based Golden Corral Corp. for sexual harassment they say they endured while working at a restaurant in Port Richie. The plaintiffs claim three male workers, including an associate manager, sexually harassed them repeatedly …

Ensure harassment victim knows you want her to stay

04/01/2008
Employees who believe they are enduring unbearable harassment may feel they have no choice but to resign. If that happens, they may be able to sue their employers for constructive discharge. But employers can mitigate that danger by making sure the employee understands that management wants her to stay on board while the company investigates …

Document timing of employee complaints

04/01/2008
When it comes to retaliation, timing is everything. It’s impossible for an employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining about alleged harassment or discrimination before the employer knows about it. That’s why it’s so important to note for the record the date and the exact time HR or a supervisor got a harassment or discrimination complaint …

Incapacity doesn’t extend time to contact EEO counselor

04/01/2008
Federal employees are required to contact their agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity counsel within 45 days of experiencing alleged discrimination unless circumstances beyond an employee’s control prevent her from contacting the counselor. But it takes more than a blanket “I was depressed” to win an extension …

Making a frivolous complaint is not protected activity

04/01/2008
When employees file frivolous complaints, it doesn’t count as a protected activity. That means an employee can’t set up his employer by filing a nonsensical discrimination claim and then waiting for some perceived punishment or imagined slight to create a retaliation lawsuit. Courts seem to be catching on to that common practice …

Be careful what you promise: You may extend employee’s time to sue

04/01/2008
The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) protects employees from discrimination, but requires them to file their claims within one year of the discriminatory act. But an employee who believes she has a claim and waits to file may sometimes gain extra time—if the discriminating entity promises to investigate …

Whistle-Blower protection requires employee’s intent to expose illegality

04/01/2008
Minnesota’s whistle-blower law protects health care workers from retaliation. It is illegal to take adverse employment action against employees who report situations in which the quality of health care services violates a clinical or ethical standard or places the public at risk. But whistle-blowers must intend to expose illegality; it can’t just be in the context of doing their jobs …

Drywall company faces class action suit

04/01/2008
Eight Hispanic workers have filed a class action lawsuit against drywall company Mulcahy Inc., of Mahtomedi, alleging the company paid them less than minimum wage and denied them overtime pay, breaks and health benefits. Because they say they fear retaliation, the workers are suing under the pseudonym “John Doe” …