In November of last year, an Illinois federal judge ruled in favor of the EEOC in a case against Amstead Rail Company. The court held that the company discriminated against applicants by requiring a medical screening which predicted the potential for applicants to develop carpal tunnel. Amstead screened applicants who had already accepted conditional employment… Read More
Birmingham EEOC Office Files Lawsuit Alleging Disability Discrimination and Genetic Information Discrimination
In September, the Birmingham, Alabama office of the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Dollar General alleging the company violated federal law when it rescinded job offers to applicants whose medical examinations revealed they had disabilities. These examinations also unlawfully solicited family medical history from such job applicants, a form of genetic information. The employment discrimination… Read More
Birmingham EEOC Office Helps Nurse Receive $100,000 Settlement for Disability Discrimination Suit
Many employees are not certain of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We often address questions regarding whether a physical illness or injury qualifies as a disability, how to properly request an accommodation, and how to respond to disability harassment in the workplace. A recent case filed by the EEOC’s Birmingham District… Read More
EEOC’s Birmingham, Alabama Office Files Suit For Disability Discrimination
Lawyers from the Birmingham, Alabama regional office of the EEOC recently filed suit against a hospital based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi for disability discrimination. The EEOC determined that a registered nurse was denied a reasonable accommodation when she returned from work with a heavy lifting restriction and was terminated after Human Resources allegedly determined that she… Read More
Common Types of Employment Discrimination Claims
Many Alabamians are suffering the consequences of having been terminated or repeatedly denied employment. While employers across the State of Alabama are given somewhat free reign to hire and fire employees in an “at will” employment system, the employers cannot rely upon discriminatory motives when making those decisions. On average, more than 80,000 employment discrimination… Read More
EEOC Settles Disability Discrimination Charge Against Birmingham, Alabama Company
The EEOC recently announced that it reached a settlement with Jim Walter Resources mine in Brookwood, Alabama on behalf of a disabled employee. The employee suffered from hearing loss and claimed the company continued to assign him to regions of the mine that would harm his hearing aids. The EEOC says the company agreed to… Read More
What Federal Laws protect Alabama employees?
As an employment lawyer in Alabama, one of the questions I am most often asked by prospective clients is what laws protect an employee from illegal or improper treatment in the workplace. The answer to this question would take pages to answer completely, but I thought it would be worth addressing the basic framework of… Read More
Pregnancy Discrimination on the Rise
According the Bureau of Labor, women now are the primary wage earners for the majority of American families. As more women continue to work while pregnant and even late into pregnancy, problems with employment and improper treatment by employers also increases. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act was enacted over thirty years ago and requires employers to treat pregnant… Read More
EEOC Files Suit Against Alabama Thrift Store for Disability Discrimination
In September, the EEOC filed suit against America’s Thrift Stores of Alabama claiming they violated federal law by refusing to provide an employee with a reasonable accommodation and subsequently firing her because of her disability. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company’s Alabaster, Alabama, store discriminated when it failed to provide an employee with a reasonable accommodation after she informed… Read More