Seventh Circuit Reiterates Standard for Establishing Substantial Limitation on the Ability to Work

It goes without saying that an employee cannot prevail on a disability discrimination claim unless he is actually disabled. In the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this means that he must show that a disability “substantially limits” one or more of his “major life activities.”  Predictably, plaintiffs often allege that the “major life activity” that their disability has impacted is the activity of “working." Thus, an important question for employers is this: when does a disability actually limit an employee’s ability to work? More ›

Fifth Circuit: Race Discrimination claim fails Because Bankruptcy Trustee is not “Employer”

An African-American woman was employed with the office of the Chapter 13 standing trustee for the Western District of Louisiana for 14 years. For the last several years, she served as the office manager. A new trustee came on board in 2008. She and the trustee did not get along, frequently getting into disagreements. Ultimately, after a peer review process, it was recommended that the employee be terminated. When she was replaced by a Caucasian woman, the employee claimed that the Caucasian woman was less qualified than she.

The employee filed suit against the trustee claiming that she was terminated due to her race in violation of the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. After various removal issues, the case ended up in federal district court, which granted summary judgment in favor of the trustee, finding that he was not an "employer" under state law. The employee appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed, finding that to qualify as an "employer" under the state statutes, the trustee would have to employ twenty or more employees for twenty or more weeks. The court rejected the employee's assertion that the trustee was part of the larger association of the Chapter 13 system (which employed over 125 employees in the state of Louisiana) because the employee provided no authority or evidence for this position.

For more information read Bell v. Thornburg, No. 13-30155 (5th Cir. December 30, 2013).

USCIS Issues new Version of Form I-9 for Immediate Use

On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new version of Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form. As most employers are aware, Form I-9 must be used to verify the identity and employment authorization of all new employees. The new version of the Form I-9 (available for download by clicking here) can be identified by the date located at the bottom left-hand side of the form—the new Form I-9 shows the date "03/08/13." More ›

California Court Finds Employment Arbitration Provision Unconscionable

Employment arbitration agreements are generally enforceable in California. However, great care is required in both the drafting and the implementation. For example, California's First District Court of Appeal (San Francisco) recently underscored this through the unconscionablity doctrine in Ajamian v. Cantor CO2e, No. A13125 (Cal.Ct. App. Feb. 16, 2012). The Court affirmed denial of an employer's petition to compel arbitration under a provision in an employment contract. More ›