Howard Cohan visits many public establishments. Mr. Cohan is restricted to a wheelchair. He is disabled. But, he visits these public establishments in Florida to see if they are accessible to persons with disabilities. Many restaurants, stores and motels get nervous when they see him rolling toward their front door. See Cohan v. Southeastern
Fifth Circuit Vacates Attorney Fee Award
In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed the award of attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff. In Cervantes v. Cotter, the lower court severely reduced the plaintiff’s fee request by some 75% because the plaintiff’s success was, in the view of the trial court, small. The plaintiffs, noted the trial court, were only
Judge Gorsuch is not Friendly to U.S. Workers
The life experiences a judge brings to the table are important. Pres. Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch illustrates that maxim. Judge Gorsuch, prior to assuming his chair at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals represented big business, often opposing attempts to seek class action certification on behalf of workers. His decision in Hwang v. Kansas
Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
In the world of jobs, anything is possible. In the employment world, we deal with human behavior in all its manifestations. We see a crazy case in Fisher v. Lufkin Industries, Inc., No. 15-40428 (5th Cir. 2/10/2017). William Fisher had worked for Lufkin Industries off and on for some 20 years when he was
USERRA Claims Are Subject to Arbitration
Arbitration of legal disputes has become so common that now it has even invaded the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Navy Lt. Kevin Ziober filed suit against his former employer after it fired him. BLB Resources, Inc. fired him on his last day of work before just before he deployed
ADA Recognizes Associational Discrimination
One often overlooked aspect of Americans with Disabilities Act is that this statute also protects persons who have an association or relationship with a person who has a disability. See 42 U.S.C. §12112(b)(4). 20 C.F.R. §1630.8 defines the association as relationships based on family, business, social or other sorts of relationships. The statute and regulation
Staffing Agencies Are Liable for Discrimination
More and more employers are relying on staffing agencies to fill certain jobs. But, many employers retain so much control that they remain the employers in all but name. So, if the client employer is the employer in fact, what would be the status of the staffing agency? The Fifth Circuit addresses that issue in
Fifth Circuit Clears Up Disability Discrimination Caselaw
In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit cleared up some confusion regarding how to show disability discrimination. In EEOC v. LHC Group, Inc., No. 13-60703 (5th Cir. 12/11/2014), the court noted that Fifth Circuit jurisprudence had three different versions of a prima facie case for showing disability discrimination. All three versions required the plaintiff
Houston Court Of Appeals Addresses Mixed Motive Cases
There are so many cases discussing the burden of proof in discrimination cases. It is even more complicated when the plaintiff is alleging mixed motives. Mixed motive cases refers to those cases that have a mix of motives, unlawful and lawful. For example, a plaintiff who alleges she was overlooked for a promotion due to