National Origin Discrimination

Yes, You Can Be Denied A Job That You Are Not Qualified To Hold

“Just because you can doesn't mean you should.” The American legal system allows individuals to represent themselves in court. This practice is called acting pro se. Our lawyers have blogged regularly to warn employees about the complexities employment discrimination...

Can Employers Beat Race And Gender Claims By Equally Harassing Everyone?

Yesterday, our employment discrimination attorney discussed whether offensive music could create a racially or sexually hostile work environment based on the recent United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holding in Sharp v. S&S Activewear, L.L.C.,...

Can Offensive Music Create A Hostile Work Environment In Violation Of Title VII?

Last week, in Sharp v. S&S Activewear, L.L.C., No. 21-17138, 2023 WL 3857491, (9th Cir. June 7, 2023), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the offensive music issue as well as whether there is a violation of Title VII of the Civil...

Marijuana & Employee’s Workplace Rights

The policies surrounding employees’ use of cannabis, CBD, and THC products in the workplace are evolving. Many states are enacting law to allow medical and/or recreational use of cannabis. In today’s blog, our employment law attorneys will discuss what claims,...

The Cautionary Tale Of A Good Employment Case

As my good friend, Kenny Rodgers, once said, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away, know when to run.” There comes a time in most every case when a plaintiff-employee can claim the win by settling the case. The trick is to...

Top Secret: Can Yanking Security Clearance Be An Adverse Employment Action?

What is an adverse employment action? An adverse employment action constitutes “a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant...

What Employer Acts Can Support A Discrimination Claim

How do you prove employment discrimination? Before we get to what employer acts constitute an adverse employment action, we need to discuss how it fits in with the other elements of an employment discrimination claim. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964...

Yes, You Can Be Fired For Not Passing Proficiency Tests

Alexander Reagan Ma’alona, a male Asian/Pacific Islander with dark brown skin, worked for the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) as a Transportation Security Officer from 2002 to 2012. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress enacted the...

Hostile Work Environment: What Does “Severe Or Pervasive” Mean?

    In a recently decided case out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Vanoy Allen sued her employer, Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, Inc., claiming that she was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. See Allen v. Our Lady...

Don’t Count On Judges To Do What You Expect

Sometimes, no matter what you do; no matter what evidence you present; no matter what the law says – a judge is going to do whatever the judge wants to do. A good example of this proposition is found in the case of Edge v. TLW Energy Services, L.L.C., No. 22-50288,...

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