Your Whistleblower’s Old Retaliation Claims Aren’t Necessarily Dead. A NJ Court Just Showed How.
A New Jersey appellate court reversed a lower‑court dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company, finding that the employee’s retaliation claims under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) were not time‑barred. The court held that the termination claim accrues on the actual discharge date, and that the hostile‑work‑environment claim falls under the continuing‑violation doctrine, pulling earlier acts into the limitations period. The decision revives five CEPA counts and underscores that recent adverse actions can revive older retaliation allegations.
The EEOC Wants to Kill the EEO-1. Here’s What Employers Should Do in the Meantime.
On May 14, 2026 the EEOC submitted a proposal to the White House’s OIRA to rescind the long‑standing EEO‑1 reporting requirement and several related workforce‑demographic filings. The proposal is still under review, with no final rule or timeline announced, so...
Two Pilots Abused Sick Leave While Serving in the Military. USERRA Didn’t Save Them.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a major airline after two Air Force reservist pilots abused sick‑leave benefits. Both pilots claimed illness to collect paid leave while either skiing or flying military jets on the same day, resulting in...
New Jersey’s Independent Contractor Rules Are Now Official — And the Burden Is All Yours
On May 5, 2026 New Jersey’s Department of Labor filed N.J.A.C. 12:11, turning the long‑standing ABC test for independent‑contractor classification into binding regulation across six state labor statutes. The rules take effect on October 1, 2026 and place the entire burden on employers to prove...
What Happens When an Employee Frames a Workplace Grievance as Religious Expression?
The Fifth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a school district police officer who was fired after posting a prayer‑laden critique of his supervisors on Facebook. The court ruled the post was not protected speech under the First Amendment, nor was...
If Prayer Isn’t Enough to Support a Religious Exemption Request, What Is?
The Ninth Circuit panel upheld a district‑court dismissal of a Title VII claim by a data‑privacy executive who sought a religious exemption from weekly COVID‑19 testing after Oregon’s vaccine mandate. The panel deemed her objection “purely secular” because it rested...
Before You Fire Someone for FMLA Paperwork Problems, Make Sure Your System Worked
A Wisconsin federal court denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment on both FMLA interference and retaliation claims after a production employee was fired despite a broken third‑party administrator (TPA) system that repeatedly hung up on his calls. The employee,...
HR Said She Was Just There for the Maternity Benefits. See You in Court.
An Illinois federal court granted summary judgment to a warehouse employer on the employee’s Title VII discrimination claim and her Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PWFA) failure‑to‑accommodate claim, but allowed the PWFA retaliation claim to go to trial. The worker, who started...
Can an Employee Sue for Failure to Accommodate a Disability She Said She Didn’t Have?
The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a public employer after an employee with a history of transient ischemic attacks refused to request a disability accommodation and instead challenged an independent medical exam. The employee, who had worked over thirty...
Did Interviewers Say the Quiet Parts Out Loud? The EEO-1 Data May Have Confirmed the Rest.
The EEOC secured a $200,000 Title VII settlement with a waste‑management firm after evidence showed it systematically rejected qualified female truck‑driver applicants. During an interview, a manager told a female candidate to discuss the job with her husband and warned...
If Free Help Was Available and You Turned It Down, Can You Still Claim Undue Hardship?
A blind customer‑care advocate at a beverage company requested screen‑reading software, but the employer declined a free assessment from a state vocational counselor and later terminated him, citing incompatibility with its proprietary system. The EEOC sued under the ADA, and...
What the ADA Requires When a Drug Test Flags a Legally Prescribed Medication
The EEOC secured a $300,000 settlement against a tire manufacturer for violating the ADA by refusing to reinstate two heavy‑machine operators who tested positive for prescribed opioids. Both employees were cleared as fit for duty by the company’s own physicians,...
What Does the ADA Require Before You Pull a Telework Accommodation You Already Approved?
The EEOC secured a $280,000 consent decree after a dispatcher’s approved telework accommodation was abruptly revoked without an individualized assessment, forcing her into retirement after three decades of service. The employer’s committee eliminated telework for all disabled dispatchers in a...
Can a $2 Billion Company Claim a $1,700 Accommodation Is Too Expensive?
A $2 billion threat‑detection equipment maker denied a $1,700 custom hearing‑protection request, then demoted the employee who sought the accommodation. The EEOC sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging discrimination and retaliation. The case settled for $100,000, with the consent...
Who’s Responsible If Your Benefits Vendor Drops the Ball on ADA Leave?
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against a North Carolina turkey processor, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act after an employee undergoing chemotherapy was terminated for attendance violations. The complaint says the employer directed the worker to a...