HR Manager's Legal Alert for Supervisors

04/10/2025

**** New legal protections for service members. **** Proceed cautiously before disciplining a crew member who also serves in the U.S. military. Reason: A new federal law in the U.S. significantly expands employment protections under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

The Dole Act, which was signed into law earlier this year, forbids employers from taking retaliatory actions against military service members.

Previously, staff members suing under USERRA had to demonstrate that an adverse employment action led to a material change in the terms and conditions of their employment.

Now, they don’t have to prove a change in employment conditions; they only have to show that a retaliatory action was taken against them.

Furthermore, the Dole Act allows for liquidated damages under USERRA by permitting awards even in cases where the worker suffered no lost wages or benefits.

Instead, the law establishes a minimum payout of $50,000, which means a judge can require an organization to pay the greater of $50,000 or the total sum of lost wages and benefits, as well as interest.

^ From the April 11th issue of HR Manager's Legal Alert for Supervisors. Get the next four copies of our full bi-weekly newsletter at no cost via https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE.

04/03/2025

Do the right thing and teach your frontline managers how to do things right when it comes to weeding out workplace discrimination. The legal world moves quickly, which is why you need a resource to keep the team informed. Our HR newsletter provides a fast and convenient way to stay in the loop with everything you need to know. Start your trial subscription today via https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE.

03/29/2025

Woman paid less than males with same title. Heads up: A woman suing for discrimination based on unequal pay must show that her male comparators are substantially similar to her. What happened: A female staff member learned that four male colleagues who had the same job title as she did were being paid more than she was.

Legal challenge: The woman sued under the Equal Pay Act.

Company’s response: The four male coworkers weren’t suitable comparators because they worked in different locations and had different supervisors.

Ruling: The employer won. Yes, the men had the same job title as the woman, but they worked in different locations and had different supervisors.

Cite: Langham v. Texas Health and Human Services Commission, U.S. District Court, E.D. Texas, No. 6:22-cv-57, 2/14/25.

^ From the March 28th issue of HR Manager's Legal Alert for Supervisors. To get four complimentary copies of our newsletter at no cost, visit https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE.

03/28/2025

Was woman fired because she took time off work for in vitro fertilization appointments? The following is a fictionalized dialogue based on a real U.S. court case: "I don’t understand how Jessica can sue us for s*x discrimination when we didn’t even know she was pregnant when we fired her,” said Supervisor Nathan Hawkins.

“Jessica says her boss knew she was undergoing IVF – in vitro fertilization – in an attempt to get pregnant when she was let go,” said HR Director Carolyn McGill.

“Yeah, Jessica’s boss was aware of her efforts to get pregnant,” said Nathan. “However, we had a legitimate reason for firing Jessica.”

“Why did we dismiss Jessica?” asked Carolyn.

“We let her go after we found out that she’d misused the corporate credit card,” said Nathan.

“Jessica thinks our justification for her dismissal was bogus,” said Carolyn.

“She points out that it was standard practice for people in her position to use the corporate credit card. She also notes that she was never told about alleged misuse of the corporate credit card. What happened on the day we fired Jessica?”

“Once we decided to terminate Jessica,” said Nathan, “we called her into a meeting and gave her the bad news. That’s when she told us for the first time that the IVF treatments had been successful and that she was pregnant. As I mentioned, we didn’t even know about her pregnancy until after we’d already told her that she’d been let go.”

“Jessica acknowledges that we didn’t know about her pregnancy at the time of her termination,” said Carolyn. “However, she notes that her boss knew she was undergoing IVF treatments, which she says is a so-called protected activity under pregnancy discrimination laws because it’s a pregnancy-related condition.”

“That’s a stretch,” said Nathan. “According to Jessica,” said Carolyn, “she received her first-ever negative performance review after she alerted her supervisor to the fact that she was starting IVF.”

“I know Jessica’s IVF-related appointments were messing up the schedule,” said Nathan. “Jessica was constantly leaving the workplace for treatments, and her supervisor had to scramble to get Jessica’s job duties completed.”

“Jessica contends that we were legally obligated to accommodate her time off for IVF appointments. She notes that she was fired right after she told her boss that she was taking another couple of days off for additional treatments.”

“I still don’t understand how we can be accused of s*x discrimination due to pregnancy when we didn’t even know Jessica was pregnant at the time of her termination,” said Nathan.

“We should challenge this lawsuit.”

^ From the March 28th issue of HR Manager's Legal Alert for Supervisors. To get four complimentary copies of our newsletter at no cost, visit https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE.

For the ruling and what this means to you, view our comments underneath.

Do you think the company should've won? Share your thoughts below.

Result: The company lost.

The court refused to dismiss the case. The judge first ruled that IVF treatments are considered a protected activity under pregnancy discrimination laws. That meant the woman could continue to pursue her case by arguing that she was fired shortly after her employer became aware of her IVF treatments.

In fact, according to the court, the crew member was probably terminated because her boss was frustrated by the fact that the woman was frequently missing work time for IVF-related appointments.

Furthermore, decided the judge, the employer’s stated reason for firing the woman – unapproved use of the corporate credit card – might have been bogus, because it was standard practice for workers with the woman’s job title to use the corporate credit card.

Cite: Alecio v. Jet Aviation Flight Services, Court of Appeals of California, No. B335470, 2/14/25.

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: It pays to be aware that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a protected activity under the law.

In fact, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which became the law of the land two years ago, specifically mentions IVF as a pregnancy-related condition. And the PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers undergoing IVF unless they can show that doing so would create an undue hardship.

Dig deeper: Once you find out that a woman is undergoing IVF, meet with her to figure out potential accommodations. You’ll probably have to allow her to take time off for doctors’ appointments and to receive medical treatment. Even if it’s a hassle to provide the time off to her, you still have to do it – or risk a costly s*x discrimination lawsuit.

^ From the March 28th issue of HR Manager's Legal Alert for Supervisors. To get four complimentary copies of our newsletter at no cost, visit https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE.

03/27/2025

New emphasis on bias against white crew members. Get ready for government officials responsible for enforcing antidiscrimination laws to pay extra attention to allegations of workplace discrimination against white employees.

So suggests a newly released technical document from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The guidance is intended to educate the public about workplace bias related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Titled “What You Should Know About DEI-related Discrimination at Work,” the document states that there’s no such thing as reverse race discrimination; there’s only discrimination. Anti-bias laws apply equally to all workers, says the EEOC, regardless of race, color, or gender.

Although courts have consistently ruled that white staffers who don’t belong to a protected class must exceed a higher bar to win lawsuits, the new guidance indicates that the EEOC won’t require a higher showing of proof for white workers’ claims of bias.

What it means to you: At the same time the EEOC will be on the lookout for bias against white workers, you’re still legally required to stamp out discrimination against staff members who belong to protected classes. Otherwise, they could pursue a lawsuit against you. These members of your crew are still covered under antidiscrimination laws, no matter who’s in charge of the EEOC.

^ From the March 28, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now at no cost, visit www.iobp.com/legal-alert-for-supervisors-trial-subscription.

For more information about us, visit www.iobp.com

03/27/2025

EEOC REPORTS HUGE JUMP IN BIAS CHARGES. Heads up: The chances of getting hammered with an employment discrimination lawsuit are going up. According to the EEOC, there was a whopping 9.2% increase in the number of discrimination charges filed by U.S. employees between 2023 and 2024. In fiscal year 2023, there were 81,055 submissions from U.S. workers. For fiscal year 2024, that number jumped to 88,531 filings. (Note: Individual staffers usually pursue multiple charges.)

The No. 1 allegation by workers remains retaliation, with 42,301 charges filed in 2024, or 47.8% of all claims that year. Submissions under the Americans with Disabilities Act jumped to 33,668 in 2024 from 29,160 in 2023. And charges of age bias increased to 16,223 in 2024 from 14,144 in 2023.

(From the March 28, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click www.iobp.com/legal-alert-for-supervisors-trial-subscription.)

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10/04/2024

FOCUS: MICROAGGRESSIONS. Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: More than one-quarter of U.S. employees who responded to a recent survey reported that they’d definitely experienced a microaggression at work; another 22% said they might have suffered a microaggression on the job.

These numbers show that microaggressions are fairly common in the workplace, and they help explain why you need to respond to them quickly in order to reduce the chances that someone who suffers a microaggression will pursue a costly lawsuit.

Microaggressions, which are subtle behaviors that lead someone to feel devalued, can take many different forms, including microassaults, which are overt actions meant to cause harm, e.g., hanging up a photo of a sc****ly clad woman.

Another type of microaggression is a microinsult, which isn’t intended to cause harm and is often driven by unconscious bias or cultural ignorance. Example: Telling a Black person that he or she is articulate, which implies that Black people aren’t expected to be articulate.

And microaggressions sometimes take the form of microinvalidations – talking over someone or blatantly interrupting a coworker. For instance, a male employee might “manterrupt” a female colleague.

As a supervisor focused on stamping out unacceptable conduct such as microaggressions, it’s important to act promptly and decisively when you become aware of a potential microaggression that has upset a crew member.

Speak to the person who has committed the microaggression, and carefully explain to him or her the difference between intent and impact. Example: “I know you didn’t intend for your comment to come off as discriminatory, but your coworker perceived the statement to be offensive to her national origin.”

^^ From the Sept. 20, 2024, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click https://lnkd.in/eM5jmim8. To learn more about us, please visit www.iobp.com.

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10/03/2024

HERE'S WHAT TO DO WHEN A STAFF MEMBER ASKS TO BRING HER DOG INTO THE WORKPLACE 🐶. If a member of your crew asked to bring her dog into the workplace, how would you respond? Keep in mind that certain dogs could be considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which means you can’t just turn down her request.

🐕

Rather, you’re required under the ADA to engage in the interactive process to determine whether the woman should be allowed to bring her dog to work.

🐕‍🦺

The first thing to find out is whether the dog is considered a service animal or an emotional support animal – the difference will play a big role in shaping your response.

♿

Service animals, which must be dogs only, have been trained to handle tasks such as guiding blind people, alerting deaf workers, or pulling a wheelchair.

❣️

Emotional support animals, which can be any type of pet, haven’t been trained to perform specific tasks. Rather, they provide the person with emotional or psychological comfort.

🌱

The difference between the two classifications of animals is important because you’re legally required to consider letting the woman bring her service animal into the workplace, but you can usually deny a request for an emotional support animal.

💰

When considering the worker’s request for a service animal, you must engage in the interactive process. Remember that you have limited ability to turn down a request for a service dog, unless you can show that the animal would create an undue hardship because it could be a threat to health and safety, could lead to significant workplace disruption, or could cause a financial burden.

📃

You can, however, ask the worker to provide medical documents to prove the need for the service animal, and certification records for the dog to show that it has been trained to perform specific tasks to help the woman perform her job.

📨

^ From the Oct. 4, 2024, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click https://lnkd.in/e_7AKbgE

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09/30/2024

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09/30/2024

FOCUS: MICROAGGRESSIONS. Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: More than one-quarter of U.S. employees who responded to a recent survey reported that they’d definitely experienced a microaggression at work; another 22% said they might have suffered a microaggression on the job.

These numbers show that microaggressions are fairly common in the workplace, and they help explain why you need to respond to them quickly in order to reduce the chances that someone who suffers a microaggression will pursue a costly lawsuit.

Microaggressions, which are subtle behaviors that lead someone to feel devalued, can take many different forms, including microassaults, which are overt actions meant to cause harm, e.g., hanging up a photo of a sc****ly clad woman.

Another type of microaggression is a microinsult, which isn’t intended to cause harm and is often driven by unconscious bias or cultural ignorance. Example: Telling a Black person that he or she is articulate, which implies that Black people aren’t expected to be articulate.

And microaggressions sometimes take the form of microinvalidations – talking over someone or blatantly interrupting a coworker. For instance, a male employee might “manterrupt” a female colleague.

As a supervisor focused on stamping out unacceptable conduct such as microaggressions, it’s important to act promptly and decisively when you become aware of a potential microaggression that has upset a crew member.

Speak to the person who has committed the microaggression, and carefully explain to him or her the difference between intent and impact. Example: “I know you didn’t intend for your comment to come off as discriminatory, but your coworker perceived the statement to be offensive to her national origin.”

🗣️

^^ From the Sept. 20, 2024, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click www.iobp.com/legal-alert-for-supervisors-trial-subscription. To learn more about us, please visit www.iobp.com.

09/17/2024

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