Virginia Discrimination Legal Questions

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act includes the 21- and 45-day deadlines you mention, as well as provisions for informing laid-off employees of the breakdown of the layoff.  However, the OWBPA only requires such notice if the employer wants you to sign a release of your claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  As for age discrimination, the ADEA prohibits companies with more than 19 employees from discriminating against employees based on their age.  Compensation-based RIFs can be used to obscure age discrimination, but if the decision maker did not consider age, there is no ADEA violation.  Such cases are very fact-specific because they turn on whether you can prove that the decision maker had an unlawful intent.  Please call us to schedule a consultation.... Read More

More information is needed here to determine whether, or not, you and your former co-workers have a client for discrimination.  You also have time limits to file a Discrimination Charge with the EEOC that you must check out (http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/howtofile.cfm).  Contact a local employment law firm to assist you.  My firm (www.generalcounsellaw.com) would be pleased to discuss with you.  I can also be reached at mgreen@gcpc.com.... Read More

The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against an employee based on pregnancy status.  However, it only applies to employers with 15 or more employees.  The Family and Medical Leave Act would also require the employer to give you at least six weeks off, if the employer has 50 or more employees and you have been working there full time for a year.  There may be applicable state laws or local ordinances that could offer protection if the employer has a lower number of employees.  These cases are very fact intensive.  Please call us to schedule a consultation. In the meantime, if you resign, even under some pressure, you may not be eligible for unemployment benefits, and a resignation may cut off your possible damages in a discrimination action.... Read More

Employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees based on their pregnancy or other related health conditions.  These rules come from the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  A doctor’s note you gave to the employer can go a long way toward establishing your right to leave. Virginia is an “employment at will” state, which means that you can quit at any time for any reason or no reason, and you can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason, but not an illegal reason such as pregnancy discrimination. However, if you are not eligible for FMLA leave and have exhausted your sick leave, the employer is not necessarily required to grant you additional leave.  This is a tricky issue and the caselaw and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interpretations are a bit in flux. Please call us to schedule a consultation so we can discuss in more detail the reasons the employer gave for firing you, the nature of your pregnancy-related illness, and other issues relating to the merits of your case.  ... Read More

If your employer has more than 50 employees at your location, and you have worked there for a year or more, you are probably covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which entitles you to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for treatment for serious medical conditions.  The employer would have to let you take the leave and not retaliate against you for it. If the employer has 15 or more employees, you may be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act as well, depending on the nature of your medical conditions.  In that event, you may be entitled to accommodations that could include extra leave or a flexible schedule. Please call us to schedule a consultation to explore these issues.... Read More

There is nothing illegal per se about doing this.  However, adding a fixed amount of money to your hourly employees’ pay may raise their effective “hourly rate” when it comes time to calculate overtime.  This area of law is a minefield for employers, but we can help you navigate it.  Please give us a call.... Read More

If your employer is large enough, the Americans with Disabilities Act affords you a “reasonable accommodation” for a disability, which your fibromyalgia might be depending on its severity.  Whether your accommodation—reassignment—is reasonable also depends on the size of the company, whether qualified staff were available, and a lot of other case-specific information.  If you are a union member, your collective bargaining agreement may give you other rights as well.  You may be a victim of retaliation depending on what the principal’s real reason for writing you up is. Please call us to schedule a consultation so that we can get the relevant information from you.... Read More

Wow, that sounds like a pretty blatant case of discrimination.  Is it possible there were other factors involved, such as that your item was damaged or had been removed from its original packaging?  If there is some legitimate reason for the disparate treatment, then it would not be discriminatory.  But if all other things were equal then there does not seem to be any valid reason that you should have been treated differently and you may have a civil rights claim. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.... Read More

There are several potential issues here.  The Equal Pay Act prohibits pay discrimination based on gender for substantially similar employees (same level in the organization, same level of experience, same qualifications).  The EPA might provide a claim for your pay differential compared to substantially similar male employees, if there are any. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits gender discrimination in the workplace more broadly.  Gender can’t be a motivating factor in decisions about the “terms and conditions” of your employment—hiring, firing, laying off, promoting, demoting, giving a raise, etc.  Title VII could provide a claim for lost wages and other damages. It’s important to act quickly as you may have as few as 300 days to take the steps necessary to preserve your claims.Please give us a call at 571-732-3697 to schedule a consultation.  ... Read More

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s illegal for a company with 15 or more employees to treat its employees differently based on their race.  This includes hiring, firing, demotion, promotion, pay raises, pay cuts, severance, and a variety of other terms of employment.  However, there is a 300-day deadline to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the deadline usually starts running on the date of the discriminatory employment action.  If the favoritism you’re talking about was sufficiently serious in the way it affected your livelihood, or the racial jokes were frequent and pervasive, you may have a Title VII claim.  Depending on when you complained to the management, the company itself may be responsible for the discrimination. There are also limited remedies under the Virginia Human Rights Act for victims of race discrimination at companies with fewer than 15 employees.... Read More

If the escort ad contains false and defamatory statements, then anyone who republishes it can be sued for defamation.  However, the person who claims to have had her reputation harmed by the reposting must prove that the statements contained therein are false.  Also, generally, they must prove how they were damaged by the statement (although there are some exceptions to that general rule).  I would need to review the actual posting to determine whether it conveys any defamatory information. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.... Read More

Your employer can require that your doctor's note state whether your return to work after an injury is with or without restrictions as to the work you can perform. This answer should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. ... Read More

You may have a claim for national origin discrimination if there is either direct evidence (statements by the decision maker about the claimant evincing national origin bias), or indirect evidence. Indirect evidence can consist of a showing that you were qualified for the position, were in the protected category (foreign national origin), were replaced by someone who is not in the protected category, and the employer's reason(s) for your non-selection are false and a mere pretext for national origin discrimination. It helps if the decision maker is not in the same protected category as the claimant. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. ... Read More