In the decision of Apache Corp. v. Davis, 573 S.W.3d 475 (Tex.App. Hou. 2019), the court of appeals affirmed a jury verdict in favor of Cathryn Davis, a former paralegal at Apache Corporation. The jury found she had complained about gender discrimination and then suffered reprisal because of that opposition. The jury awarded her
Proving discrimination is never easy. Discrimination requires proof of intent. The plaintiff must prove or show what some manager was thinking. In Thompson v. Zinke, 795 Fed. Appdx. 294 (5th Cir. 2/27/2020), the plaintiff alleged he was discriminated against when he was passed over for promotion. Mr. Thompson noted that a white applicant with
In a small town police force, one officer is going through some serious emotional issues. His former girlfriend and mother of their child is seeing a senior officer on the same small police force. In March, 2018, the chief of the police force referred Office Michael Grelle to a clinical psychologist for an evaluation. The
The Fifth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment in Lindsley v. TRT Holdings, Inc., No. 20-10263 (5th Cir. 1/7/2021). In an opinion written by Judge Ho, the court found that the plaintiff showed that she was paid much less than similarly situated male employees of Onmi hotels. The lower court had found that
All discrimination lawsuits start with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. By statute, all complaints of discrimination must be filed with the EEOC or a state equivalent agency. Since Texas has only one state equivalent agency in Austin, most folks have to start by filing a complaint with the EEOC. USA Today published an article discussing
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits public places of accommodation from erecting barriers to persons with disabilities. This portion of the ADA is known as Title III. This is the provision that requires, for example, entrance ramps at restaurants and stores. Does Title III also apply to websites? The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in
We all know that age discrimination is an issue when an older worker is replaced by a younger worker. But, can we still show age discrimination when an older worker is replaced by someone who is also older? The Firth Circuit says yes, sometimes. In the case of Alaniz v. U.S. Renal Care, Inc.,
Well, a recent study confirms what many of us expected. Joanna Shepherd, law professor at Emory University, conducted a study of employment discrimination lawsuits.The study looked at whether backgrounds of individual federal judges had an impact on the outcome of a discrimination lawsuit. The study asks whether the professional background of some judges makes them
In Rodriguez v. Dollar General Corp., No. SA-19-CV-00713 (W.D. Tex. 7/30/2020), we see the uncommon instance in which the Western District does not accept the Defendant’s mis-characterization of the Plaintiff’s evidence. The case concerns a warehouse supervisor who suffered from diabetes. The diabetes lead to complications which caused pain and swelling in his feet.
Those of us who work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission know how difficult it is for folks to convey to the EEOC their complaints. The EEOC is always in a hurry. They do not always take the time necessary to understand an employee’s complaint. So, it is not surprising that in Apache Corp. v.