Suppose a national origin discrimination case goes to a jury trial (I know we’re not having jury trials during this pandemic, but humor me). The jury comes back with a verdict finding for the Plaintiff-employee. But it awards the Plaintiff just one dollar.  Is this a victory? Before you answer, you should know this happens more than you think.  Sometimes a jury may say that an employee was definitely wronged but really didn’t suffer any…

The Connecticut Appellate Court issued a new decision (officially released today) that will have important ramifications for employers proceeding with the CHRO mandatory mediation stage.  Specifically, based on this ruling, most settlement discussions during the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities’ mediation stage will be inadmissible in a later court proceeding.   The decision also holds that changes to a deposition transcript through an errata sheet do not preclude the introduction of the original answers. The…

You may have noticed that this blog has been a little quiet of late.  Like a lot of people, I’m pretty sure that after four months of non-stop pandemic-related employment law work, I had reached a breaking point. And so I took vacation last week. Of course, like a lot of you, we didn’t go very far. I read, watched my Yankees play some baseball, swam, slept, and then tried not to engage in “doomscrolling”.…

Like a lot of you, I watched Hamilton with my family this month.  I’ve seen in twice in the theater and you don’t need me to tell you it’s spectacular. One of the lines at the end of the show always gets me: “And when my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell our story?” I’ve been reminded of that over the last month or so as the issues of systemic racism…

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the “ministerial exception” that bars some employment discrimination claims against religious institutions, also bars such claims by elementary school teachers at private Catholic schools.  The case further clarifies an exception that came to prominence back in 2012 and expands the reach of the exception.   I noted then that the Court was taking a fairly broad approach. Eight years later, that broad approach is playing out as expected.…

We made it halfway through 2020. I know it FEELS as if it should be December, but just think how long March was! A lot has changed since the start of the pandemic.  But over the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing from employers wondering where things stand right now. What’s changed? What still remains? So I thought I would try to recap some of the key developments the last few months with some links…

A few weeks ago, I did an inital post about how the new OSHA guidance on masks only served to complicate efforts for employers to comply with any such rules. This week, my colleague Alfredo Fernandez (with only a little help from me — byline notwithstanding) posted a more thorough post on the ins and outs of masks, face coverings and personal protective equipment. You can read the entire post here.  Here’s a sneak peek:…