The Ninth Circuit has joined the Fourth Circuit in upholding the injunction against Pres. Trump’s travel ban. The unanimous three-judge decision found that of the six countries identified in the ban, none had ever posed a risk to the United States. I wrote about the Fourth Circuit’s recent decision here. The Ninth Circuit pointed
Requests for Accommodation Under FMLA and ADA
A request for accommodation need not mention any specific words, so long as the request puts the employer on notice that an accommodation is needed. Indeed, if an impairment is obvious, caselaw does not require the person to actually request the accommodation. See Brady v. Wal-Mart Stores, 531 F.3d 127, 135 (2d Cir.2008); McElwee
Trump Budget Could Remove 946,000 from SSDI
The Trump administration has proposed huge cuts to the Social Security Disability payments. Known as SSDI, these payments go to persons who can no longer work. The Trump administration has proposed cuts of $72 billion over ten years. They have also proposed reducing the back pay period from 12 months to six to save more
Fourth Circuit Upholds Travel Ban
The Fourth Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia has upheld the lower court’s preliminary injunction regarding the Trump travel ban. This ruling applies to the second ban, not the first. The second ban was written better after the administration encountered so many problems with the first ban.
A Maryland district court issued the preliminary injunction.
Trump Comments Undermine his Own Case
The President has done it, again. He has said things that were later used against him in court. He issued an Executive Order a few weeks ago threatening to cut off funding to cities and communities that supposedly provide “sanctuary” to unlawful immigrants. The city of San Fransisco and other communities filed suit to stop
Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
The Fifth Circuit reversed summary judgment in another case recently. In Caldwell v. KHOU-TV Company, Inc., No. 16-20408 (5th Cir. 3/6/2017), the court addressed ADA and FMLA issues. Gerald Caldwell worked at KHOU TV as a video editor. Due to a childhood disease, he needed the aid of crutches for walking. Mr. Caldwell notified
Multiple Sexual Harassment Cases Regarding Bill O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly, the well-known political commentator on Fox News, has cost Fox News millions of dollars. Fox News has settled five complaints from five different women for sexual harassment. All five of those complaints involved Bill O’Reilly. Mr. O’Reilly settled a case himself in 2004 with Andrea Mackris, a former producer, for $9 million. I
Supreme Court Overturns Conviction Because of Racist Juror
The decision in Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado did not receive much attention. But, it should have. In that case, a Mexican immigrant was found guilty of assaulting two teenage girls. After the verdict, a member of the jury reported that another member of the jury said some racist things about Mr. Pena-Rodriguez. The jury was all
Corporate Culture Requires a Strong HR Department
Back when I was active in the Nationals Guard and Reserve, I would visit other Army units to coordinate exercises, gather information or for some particular need. I soon noticed that when subordinate members of the unit would freely chat with an unknown captain or major, that was very likely a strong unit, with good
Jewish Community Centers Targeted
Among the many forces unleashed in the past year or so is anti-Semitism. Bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers, the place where many people, Jewish and otherwise, find rumba lessons, tennis lessons and basketball. More than 100 JCC’s across the country have been the targets of bomb threats. Two Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized. Two