News & Analysis as of August 2, 2025

Corporate Counsel

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Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and can create tremendous liability for employers who fail to properly adhere to acceptable employment practices. Some of the potential pitfalls in this area stem from discriminatory hiring practices, improper performance evaluations, and retaliatory firings. less -

Employment Law Update: Federal Judge Rules Attorney Was Fired for Legitimate Workplace Behavior Concerns, not Due to Alleged...

Whiteford on 7/25/2025

A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington highlights the importance of clear, documented reasons for employee terminations. In Kang v. The Boeing Company, a case involving a former...more

Seventh Circuit Issues Decision Finding Broad Scope Of Ministerial Exception; Questions Remain

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 7/13/2021

On July 9, 2021, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, issued a 7-3 decision in the closely watched case Sandor Demkovich v. St Andrew the Apostle Parish, Calumet City and the Archdiocese of Chicago....more

Has #MeToo Created a New Claim of Male-Bias Discrimination?

Littler on 10/22/2019

Often—and without much thinking—when an employer faces a claim of sexual harassment, the knee-jerk response is to discipline or terminate the man accused. It is the easiest way to go, especially if the alleged harasser is a...more

Think twice before you dismiss a cry for help: ADA accommodation request or not?

McAfee & Taft on 9/16/2019

You know the scenarios: an employee reports his chair is bothering him; another employee reports the glare of the computer screen is hurting her eyes; and a third employee explains he needs a different office space, better...more

Seventh Circuit Says One Use of "N-Word" Insufficient for Racial Harassment Claim

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 9/6/2019

In recent years, a number of federal appellant courts, including the Fourth Circuit, have issued opinions finding that a single use of a racial slur can be enough to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment...more

Once Is Enough: Tennessee Federal Court Rules Single Use of ‘N-Word’ By Co-Worker Sufficient to Get Hostile Work Environment Claim...

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 3/5/2019

Usually, once is not enough, at least in the hostile work environment context. Unless, as the court found in Ronnie L. Outlaw v. SBH Services, Inc., it is. Typically, a single incident of harassment – especially by a...more

Court Confirms Employer Can Be Liable For Harassment By Non-Employee

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 2/11/2019

Faced with a question not yet addressed by the Third Circuit, a federal judge in Pennsylvania found an employer, as well as individual managers, may be held liable for an employee’s claim of a hostile work environment based...more

Seventh Circuit Calls for Employees To Have “Thick Skin” in Sexual Harassment Case

Cozen O'Connor on 1/18/2019

On December 26, 2018, in the case of Amy Swyear v. Fare Foods Corporation, the Seventh Circuit affirmed a ruling granting summary judgment to a defendant-employer on several claims relating to the treatment and termination of...more

Just What Does A Racially Hostile Environment Look Like? The Eleventh Circuit Provides Some Guidance

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 10/4/2018

What constitutes a racially hostile work environment? Is one really bad comment specifically aimed at the plaintiff sufficient or do you need a sustained series of racial comments? What if you have both but no evidence that...more

Don’t Ignore the Kissing Supervisor—Court Rules that Employer’s Knowledge of Past Behavior Negates Faragher-Ellerth Defense

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 9/13/2018

Employment lawyers and most HR professionals are familiar with the Faragher-Ellerth defense to a claim of sexual harassment. In short, if an employer can show that (1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct...more

#MeToo Era Settlements...$3.5 Million at a Time

Snell & Wilmer on 8/15/2018

Recently, a California company settled a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) sexual harassment lawsuit by consent decree for $3.5 million. Additionally, and as part of the settlement, the company will hire a...more

Winning Harassment Claims in the #MeToo Era

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 6/14/2018

In this #MeToo era, employers are, understandably, a little sensitive when someone raises a claim of harassment. Even with the heightened sense of peril, companies should remember that if they are doing the right thing—having...more

End of Fiscal Year Filings Signal Business as Usual at the EEOC – For Now

Franczek P.C. on 10/4/2017

Just like the leaves turning colors, you can count on a flurry of court filings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) every September as the agency rushes to get cases on file before the end of its fiscal...more

Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in the Workplace: An Employer’s Guide to Risks & Prevention

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 5/23/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: Anti-Muslim rhetoric dominates many media headlines. A May 9, 2017 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit highlights the risks to an employer when anti-Muslim rhetoric enters the...more

Courts are Trending Toward Prohibiting Sexual Orientation Discrimination under Federal Law

Franczek P.C. on 12/5/2016

Two recent court decisions highlight the ongoing struggle by federal courts to determine whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation....more

"No Contract" Disclaimer in Employee Handbook Upheld by Illinois Court

Roetzel & Andress on 11/21/2016

Employee handbooks have long been a trap for the unwary employer that desires merely to establish a set of rules and policies without undermining an at-will employment relationship with its employees. To avoid establishing...more

Sweet Justice! Dismissal of Bully's FMLA Claim Proves Employers Can Safely Terminate an Employee on the Heels of FMLA Leave

Franczek P.C. on 9/8/2016

I hate bullies. Back in 4th grade, Sister Mary Demetria, OSF, told us that “hating” someone was a sin. I’m convinced Sister never met a bully. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. Cause, you see, whenever I...more

Seventh Circuit to Plaintiffs: Here's Your Burden of Proof

Littler on 9/1/2016

Most employees who file employment discrimination claims hope for one of two things – a really sympathetic jury or an employer that is willing to generously settle the lawsuit to avoid the risks and uncertainties of trial. ...more

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