Employment Litigation Practice Group Leader, Chris Lalak, recently appeared as a guest on Cleveland NPR radio program The Sound of Ideas to discuss employment law issues related to March Madness. If you missed the live March 15 broadcast on Cleveland NPR Affiliate WCPN and the Ohio News Network, video and audio of the program can be found here. The interview with Chris begins at approximately 35:30 of the audio broadcast, and 38:15 of the video broadcast.

Click here if you would like to speak to Chris or another attorney about an employment law issue.

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LGBTQ employees in Ohio concerned about workplace discrimination may find hope in recent federal circuit court decisions claiming that freedom of religion cannot be used to shield an employer from allegations of discrimination. There have been several developments in anti-discrimination law, particularly the impact that it has on LGBTQ employees. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that one transgender worker was a victim of illegal discrimination when she was fired after revealing her transitioning status to her employer.

While this was not the first federal appeals court to hold that LGBTQ employees are protected by the prohibition on sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was groundbreaking in its dismissal of a defense based on freedom of religion. The Detroit funeral home that was sued in the case said that its religious beliefs were the basis of the dismissal. However, in the 3-0 decision, the court sided with the transgender worker and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

While gender identity and sexual orientation are not explicitly protected under federal civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act does forbid sex discrimination. The court’s ruling was based on this prohibition as the employee was fired because she failed to conform to the employer’s expectations for her sex. The 6th Circuit also held that the business owner’s religious beliefs were not substantially burdened by requiring him to not discriminate on the job. Civil rights attorneys noted that transgender employees frequently face workplace discrimination and that the ruling sets an important precedent.

People who have been fired, demoted or subject to harsh treatment on the job due to their sex, race, religion, age or disability status may be victims of discrimination. An employment lawyer can help workers to fight for their rights and work to put an end to discrimination on the job.

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Many construction workers travel away from home to perform work for their employers. When this travel results in an overnight stay, this travel time must be paid. And, it must be counted as “hours worked” in determining entitlement to overtime in the workweek. Often, however, employers avoid or refuse to pay for such travel time.

Payment of “mileage” or providing a “per diem” for this travel is not enough. Employers must pay their employees an amount equal 1.5 time the construction workers’ hourly rate where, including travel time, the employee works more than 40 hours in a workweek.

If a traveling construction worker is not paid overtime for his or her overnight travel time, the worker may be able to file a lawsuit for unpaid overtime. In fact, if other employees are also not paid properly, the worker may be able to bring a collective or class action lawsuit.

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars of unpaid travel time for our construction worker clients. If this has happened to you, we can help.

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Workplace discrimination, including sexual harassment, is a serious issue in today’s world. With more and more individuals coming forward with stories of harassment across the country, it is time to speak up and we can help.

Sexual harassment is a form of workplace discrimination that violates both state and federal law. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of ways. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature that either explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s work environment.

You work environment can be affected if the sexual harassment unreasonably interferes with your work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. You can also be retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment. This can also occur if you have been terminated, demoted, or have had other adverse employment action taken against you after you have reported the sexual harassment to management or Human Resources.

If you feel you have been the victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, then it is important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible. Depending on the facts of your specific circumstances, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit seeking financial damages.

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Being mistreated or punished in the workplace can be very upsetting. Not only can such conduct be emotionally painful, it can also jeopardize a person’s employment status and livelihood. As such, it is important to know if actions like a firing or demotion are illegal.

One reason why something like termination might be wrongful or illegal is if it is retaliatory. In this post, we will examine what retaliation is in the legal context and what it might look like.

What the laws say

Retaliation is the act of firing or otherwise punishing an employee for participating in protected activity, which is activity in which employees have the right to participate. This includes reporting discrimination, requesting an accommodation and filing a complaint about workplace harassment.

Numerous Ohio and federal laws explicitly prohibit retaliation in the workplace.

What retaliation looks like

As we mentioned, firing someone for engaging in protected activity is one common example of retaliation. There are others, including:

• Demoting a worker
• Transferring the worker to a less desirable location
• Changing his or her schedule to purposefully cause personal conflicts
• Withholding pay or bonuses
• Cutting the person’s pay
• Cutting the person’s hours
• Starting hurtful rumors
• Being especially critical or negative about the worker’s performance
• Physically hurting or threatening to hurt the worker

These can all be ways that an employer retaliates against an employee.

However, these actions are not always retaliatory. An employer is generally within his or her rights to discipline or terminate a worker for any other reason, so long as the decision is motivated by something other than retaliation or discrimination.

If you have questions about whether you are the victim of retaliation, then it can be crucial to discuss your legal options with an attorney. Depending on the details and evidence in your case, you could have grounds to file a lawsuit seeking financial damages.

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