Employers often overlook the opportunity to limit liability against their business when it comes to employment agreements. And one of the most common ways in which a business can limit its liability is through a contractual limitations period. A recent Michigan Court of Appeals highlights this point.
Specifically, a shortened limitation period in an employer’s
Recently an employer, Pepsico Pepsi Beverages Company, won a summary disposition in an age discrimination claim filed under Michigan law. (Damghani v Pepsico, 9/10/2015) But the real significance of this case has to do with the court rejecting the application of a common employment discrimination theory often referred to as the “cat’s paw
A nursing home activities aide who was fired for refusing to pray the Rosary with a resident failed to prove job bias because she didn’t present sufficient evidence that her employer, Woodland Village Nursing Center Inc., knew before it decided to discharge her that plaintiff’s refusal to pray the rosary was based on her religious
On July 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a decision confirming that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation violates title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Title VII is the primary federal statute that prohibits a range of discrimination against employees. This decision marks the first time the
On June 26, 
2015, the Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 decision that same-sex couples nationwide have a constitutional right to marry.
The full case opinion (Obergefell v. Hodges) is available here, however, the majority opinion was best summed up by Justice Kennedy as follows:
The right to marry is a fundamental right
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court issued the much anticipated opinion in a pregnancy discrimination claim, Young v . United Parcel Service.
For context, the claim in Young v UPS arose under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The PDA was added to Title VII (the gold-standard in terms of civil rights law prohibiting workplace discrimination)
Last year, some Michigan politicians introduced proposed legislation to amend Michigan’s main employment civil rights statute, the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), to protect employees who are gay from discrimination. That legislation, however, didn’t go anywhere. And going into the elections this November the future of that legislation is, at best, uncertain and, more likely,
A frequent question that employers have when it comes to employment contracts and policies is whether the company should use an arbitration procedure for resolving disputes.
While there is not a “right or wrong” answer to this question, I tend to recommend employers reconsider using arbitration for resolving employment disputes. Two important factors for recommending
The Michigan Court of Appeals sent a strong message that employment lawsuits should not be analogous to a Rorschach test, i.e., subject to interpretation.
Instead, there are certain fundamental pleading requirements that must be alleged in order to state a claim; Failing to follow these requirements may result in a dismissal of the claim. The decision also highlights an important distinction between race-based discrimination and a hostile work environment based on race.
Employers and their HR professionals may want to sit down before reading on: If a manager in your company text messages a picture of his “fully erect penis” to an employee and then fires that employee the day after she brings this to your attention, you will probably be sued. In other news, water tends