Call Us 919-240-4054Attorney Meghan Deutsch-Blanco reached a settlement on behalf of a wrongfully terminated North Carolina railroad worker this month. The railroad agreed to pay for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act or “ADA.” The ADA is the law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life. In the workplace, the ADA requires […]
Discrimination
Lawsuit filed against Coca-Cola for racial discrimination
Recently, two Coca-Cola production plants in New York have come under fire for alleged discrimination towards minority workers. According to the New York Daily News, sixteen plant employees are suing the manufacturer for being subjected to “a cesspool of racial discrimination”. One worker, Sondra Walker claims that she has been called such names as “Nappy […]
Supreme Court issues important decision in discrimination case
In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, the US Supreme Court just issued an important unanimous decision in this military-service-based discrimination case. This case concerns the so-called “cat’s paw” theory of liability, under which one supervisor acts with discriminatory intent against the plaintiff, but the plaintiff is actually fired by another supervisor. The case arose under the Uniformed Services […]
Fourth Circuit rules USERRA retaliation claim can go to trial
In a recent unpublished opinion, Bunting v. Town of Ocean City, the Fourth Circuit partially overturned a grant of summary judgment and allowed the plaintiff to proceed to trial on his USERRA retaliation claim. USERRA is a federal statute that protects armed service members from being discriminated in employment because of their service. Like other anti-discrimination […]
EEOC issues new GINA regulations
On November 9, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final regulations implementing the employment-related provisions in Title II of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Details on the new regulations can be found at the Federal Register and at the EEOC. Under Title II of GINA, it is illegal to discriminate […]
Issues raised by new types of workplace drug testing
This New York Times article discusses an important employment issue that may become more prevelant: whether and how employers may test and discipline employees for using legal prescription drugs. As the article relates, drug testing like this is regulated in part by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In North Carolina, two other state statutes can […]
Fourth Circuit rules for plaintiff in significant gender discrimination opinion
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ringing opinion for employees in Merritt v. Old Dominion Freight Lines, a gender discrimination case until Title VII. The Court’s discussion of gender discrimination, sex stereotyping, and a corporate culture of discrimination is excellent and will make very useful precedent. A long-ish discussion is therefore in order. As […]
DC Circuit restricts scope of Lilly Ledbetter Act
The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last month, in Shuler v. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, sharply restricting the scope of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which President Obama signed into law soon after entering office. The Fair Pay Act extends the timely filing deadlines for certain discriminatory employment actions, specifically those involving “discrimination in […]
Fourth Circuit affirms sexual harassment verdict
In King v. McMillan, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict and the court’s rulings in a sexual harassment case. The plaintiff, a former deputy in a sheriff’s office, had been sexually harassed by the sheriff over several years. A jury awarded her compensatory and punitive damages on her claims of battery and sexual harassment under Title […]
EEOC proposes new regulations for ADA Amendments Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) was passed last year and went into effect on January 1, 2009. The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of existing regulations. The effect of these changes is to […]
