The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) protects individuals who are at least 40 years of age from discrimination in the workplace. As such, the outcome of disparate-impact claims under the ADEA hinges, ordinarily, on whether or not an employer’s facially neutral-policy has a disparate impact on employees who are 40 years of age or older. On January 10, 2017, the Third Circuit, in Karlo v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC, 2017 BL 6064 (3d Cir. 2017), issued a precedential ruling, holding that disparate impact claims under the ADEA are not limited to comparisons of the impact an employer’s policy … Continue Reading
Tag Archives: John M. O’Connor
You Snooze, You Don’t Necessarily Lose
Do retail employers really need to tolerate employees who sleep on the job?? The plaintiff in Beaton v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit, (S.D.N.Y. June 15, 2016), was an overnight Station Agent at a New York subway station who was terminated after he was found sleeping at his work station. While he admitted that it appeared that he was sleeping, plaintiff denied that he was actually sleeping. Rather, he informed his supervisor that he was drowsy due to the high dosage of anti-psychotic prescription medication that he took after he experienced severe schizophrenia symptoms at work that … Continue Reading
Holy Guacamole! An Employee’s Disparaging and Misleading Tweets May Be Protected Under the NLRA
Retail employers dismayed by employees publicly airing workplace grievances in disparaging social media posts must think twice before taking disciplinary action. On August 18, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) confirmed the finding by Administrative Law Judge Susan A. Flynn that Chipotle’s social media policy forbidding employees from posting “incomplete” or “ inaccurate” information, or from making “disparaging, false, or misleading statements” on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Relations Labor Act (“the Act”).
Chipotle discovered that an employee responded to a customer’s tweet thanking Chipotle for a free food offer, by … Continue Reading
Second Circuit Extends the Reach of the Cat’s Paw
In employment litigation, plaintiffs often rely on the “cat’s paw” doctrine to hold their employers liable for discriminatory or retaliatory animus of a 
supervisory employee who influenced, but did not make, the ultimate employment decision. On August 29, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Vasquez v. Empress Ambulance Service, Inc., greatly extended the reach of the “cat’s paw,” holding that the doctrine could be applied to hold an employer liable for an adverse employment decision that was influenced by the discriminatory or retaliatory animus of a low-level, non-supervisory co-worker.
The plaintiff, an emergency … Continue Reading
Working Like a Dog – Qualifying As A Service Animal For ADA Purposes
The United States Department of Justice recently released technical guidelines aimed at cur”tail”ing proliferating efforts purporting to expand the meaning of “service animal” under the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Under the ADA, public accommodations (e.g. restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, theaters, and concert halls) must permit the use of service animals by disabled individuals. These technical guidelines take aim at increasing claims that a variety of animals (e.g. a pigs) are service animals because they provide emotional support or comfort to the disabled individual. As this technical guideline makes clear, a service animal must not only be … Continue Reading
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