The Seventh Circuit reiterates that the task of the district court deciding a motion for summary judgment in a Title VII case is not to "ask[] whether any particular piece of evidence proves the case by itself," but instead to aggregate the evidence "to find an...
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Paul Mollica
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201, hereinafter "the Act"), signed into law Thursday by the President, provides two new, important worker protections related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both go into effect April 2, 2020 (fifteen days after...
Green v. Town of East Haven, No. 18‐0143 (2d Cir. Mar. 10, 2020)
The Second Circuit analyzes a claim that an ADEA plaintiff was "constructively discharged," that is, compelled to retire or resign against their will. The panel holds that a threat of imminent termination for supposedly stealing a canister of poppin' fresh biscuits...
Rasmy v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., No, 18-3260 (2d Cir. Mar. 6, 2020)
The Second Circuit reminds courts that it is not necessary for a Title VII harassment plaintiff to prove specifically that there was physical contact, that their work performance suffered, or that they were personally targeted for harassment to prove that there was a...
Rizo v. Yovino, No. 16-15372 (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2020) (en banc)
On remand from the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit reaffirms its original en banc holding that a "factor other than sex" under the Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. §206(d)(1)) must be "job-related," and thus rejects an employer's use of pre-employment salary history as a...
Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc., No. 18‐979 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2019)
Here's another case of a judge not thinking like a juror: most fair-minded people would consider it evidence of pregnancy discrimination that a manager launched an audit and started putting negative reports in an employee's file literally days after she announced her...
Morrissey v. Laurel Health Care Co., No. 18-1704 (6th Cir. Dec. 3, 2019)
Some courts are still ruling on ADA cases as if the 2008 amendments never occurred. The Sixth Circuit reverses summary judgment in a case where the district court placed too high a burden on the plaintiff to prove she was disabled. Morrissey v. Laurel Health Care Co.,...
Ford v. Marion County Sheriff’s Office, No. 18-3217 (7th Cir. Nov. 15, 2019)
The Seventh Circuit's opinion contains useful guidance for employees suffering disability discrimination and harassment. One key takeaway: plaintiffs should not be quick to assume - in charging, pleading and proving a hostile-work-environment claim - that harassment...
Tesone v. Empire Mktg. Strategies, No. 19-1026 (10th Cir. Nov. 8, 2019)
It's surprising that the district courts continue to get this wrong: the Tenth Circuit reverses summary judgment in an ADA case because the judge erroneously held that the plaintiff needed expert testimony to prove that she was disabled with a back injury. Tesone v....
Babb v. Maryville Anesthesiologists, P.C., No. 19-5148 (6th Cir. Nov. 6, 2019)
A nurse is fired, supposedly for clinical errors, but an email is circulated to staff saying that she was fired because she "has been having major issues with her eyesight and as of late, it has seemed to be getting even worse." The Sixth Circuit finds that the email...