LGBTQ Discrimination

When Can Employers Require Disabled Employees to Undergo Medical Exams?

As an employment attorney, I often field questions from individuals regarding what their employers can legally require, once being put on notice of an employee’s disability. Many individuals wonder if their employers are allowed to obtain copies of their medical...

The FMLA and Military Leave: Calculating Hours For Eligibility Must Include Service Time

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that permits employees to take job-protected, unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. According to the U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division, to be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee...

Gender Discrimination: Employers Cannot Discriminate Based On Conditions That Are Strictly Limited To Women Employees

The 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and mandates that employers of 50 or more to provide an unpaid break as well as a private area to express or pump the milk. It also prevents discrimination or...

An Extremely Hostile Work Environment: $25.3 Million Verdict in Elijah Turley v. ISG Tackawanna, LLC, et al.

The United States District Court for the Western District of New York recently underwent a three week racial discrimination and retaliation trial in the matter of Elijah Turley v. ISG Tackawanna, LLC, et al., and the jury returned a verdict of some $23.5 million...

Religious Discrimination Is Okay, As Long As It’s Done Against A Shareholder-Director-Officer Of Your Company

On April 29, 2013, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in Mariotti v. Mariotti Building Products, Inc.  which concludes that a company can discriminate against its employees based on their religion, in certain circumstances. The plaintiff in the...

Sexual Harassment: Egg On Employer’s Face

Although this conduct occurred on an egg farm, this is not a story about chickens. It is a story about pigs. National Food Corporation, a major supplier of eggs to the Pacific Northwestern and Midwestern United States and East Asia. It owned several isolated egg farms...

Ohio Law Protects Employees Against Negative Job References

To help sort out the well-qualified job applicants from the not-so well-qualified applicants, many employers now require applicants to submit a list of employment references with their application materials. As the employment attorneys at Spitz, The Employee’s Law...

GINA & ADA: Employers Cannot Ask For Medical Information

Although the lawsuit was only settled for $50,000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) made news this month when it brought and settled the ever lawsuit based on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA“). Signed into law on May 21, 2008...

Here Is Why It Is Critical To Call An Employment Attorney Before Quitting

There are many times that employees want to quit and think that they will have a legal claim against the employer when they do. But, our employment attorneys strongly recommend consulting an attorney before taking any action, especially since we offer free initial...

What Is An Adverse Employment Action? Not Hiring, Firing, Demotion, And Yes, Also Non-Renewal

To prove a case of discrimination (race, gender, age, national origin, etc.) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Ohio’s R.C. § 4112.99, an employee must show an adverse employment action. The adverse action need not result in pecuniary loss, but must...