“Cat’s paw” refers to a situation where a subordinate supervisor (or in some instances a coworker) lacking decision-making power dupes the decision-making manager into making an adverse employment decision, typically to terminate an employee. In this situation, the...
Firm News
Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals Holds Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is A Form Of Sex Discrimination
On November 14, 2016, we reported that a federal court in Pennsylvania had just ruled that Title VII prohibits sexual orientation discrimination. Sexual orientation discrimination, and LGBT rights in general, has been a hot topic in recent years. However, until our...
Written Job Description Is Only One Factor Of Determining Essential Job Functions In Cases Under The Americans With Disabilities Act
In Bush v. Compass Group USA, Inc., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee) recently affirmed summary judgment dismissing an employee’s disability discrimination claim. Donald Bush worked for the Compass Group as a chef...
College Athletes May Have Federal Employment Rights
Professional athletes are among the highest paid employees in any occupation and enjoy substantial benefits and union protection under the terms of their employment contracts. In contrast, college athletes are, as a rule, unpaid (though many receive scholarships to...
Court Of Appeals Upholds Termination Of At-Will Employee And Denies Existence Of Alleged Verbal Contract
In the case of Nichol v. Am. Health Network, 2016-Ohio-8346, the Tenth District Court of Appeals recently affirmed the trial court’s dismissal on summary judgment of a former employee’s claims of breach of contract and tortious interference. Allen Nichol, a...
Facebook Sued For Alleged Race Discrimination
On November 22, 2016, a federal lawsuit was filed against Facebook alleging race discrimination. In Robert Baron Duffy, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., et al., 5:16-cv-6764 (N.D. Cal.), Robert Baron Duffy , a former African-American employee, and Robert Louis Gary, a...
Federal District Court Joins Equal Employment Opportunity Commission In Holding Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is A Form Of Sex Discrimination
In 2015 the EEOC expanded its interpretation of discrimination “because of sex” to include sexual orientation discrimination. See Baldwin v. Dep’t of Transportation, EEOC Appeal No. 0120133080. A federal district court is now in agreement. In a decision announced...
Defenses Should Be Asserted As Early As Possible In Administrative Actions
In a decision issued October 20, 2016, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth District confirmed the broad discretionary authority of the Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) with respect to the revocation of teaching licenses issued by the Ohio Board of Education...
Department of Labor Expands Definition of “Sex Discrimination” for Employees of Federal Contractors
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) of the United States Department of Labor recently updated its sex discrimination rules applicable to federal contractors. The updated rules, which take effect August 15, 2016, had not been substantively...
Ex-Clay Twp. Officer Alleges Sexual Harassment
A former Clay Twp. police officer says she was sexually harassed and discriminated against by high-ranking officials in that department, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Tina Silvers filed suit against Clay Twp. police...