Many studies have documented wage gaps between men and women as well as between white people and minorities. A new study shows a similar wage gap between bisexual and heterosexual workers. The study found that bisexual men earn 11% to 19% less than heterosexual men and bisexual women earn 7%…
A new study from Bloomberg shows that workers filed more lawsuits under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 2015 than in previous years. At the same time, employers continue to try to detect “FMLA abuse,” which occurs when employees take FMLA leave they are not entitled to take.…
We previously reported on the New York Department of Labor’s (NYDOL) delay in ruling on whether some former Uber drivers were eligible for unemployment benefits. To determine eligibility for unemployment benefits, NYDOL had to decide whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors. NYDOL finally reached a decision last week…
Do you have a job where your work schedule unpredictably changes every week or every other week? If so, a new study shows that you’re more likely than someone with a more predictable work schedule to suffer adverse health effects. The researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley…
Multiple studies have shown that homeless people face pervasive employment discrimination. In 2014, a survey of homeless people found that over 70% of them believed that businesses had discriminated against them based on their housing status. Homeless people face obstacles in getting employment because they are stereotyped as drug abusers…
This week the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) convened a number of experts to discuss how employers have begun and will increasingly continue to use “Big Data” to make employment decisions. These uses of Big Data include using algorithms, “data scraping” of the internet, and other means to evaluate…
A panel of reviewers representing a variety of stakeholders, including advocates of employers’ and workers’ interests, recently issued a report that debunks the myth that the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is biased against employers. This panel conducted its review in accordance with Governor LePage’s executive order that a panel…
This week, the Maine Employee Rights Group scored a victory for its client in a whistleblower case that we filed against Woodlands Senior Living of Brewer. The Penobscot County Superior Court held that a jury could reasonably find that Woodlands retaliated against our client, who worked for Woodlands as a…
Earlier this month, a federal court in Connecticut held that a jury could reasonably find that Lawrence & Memorial Hospital violated the rights of a lab tech when it failed to provide reasonable accommodations for her disability in retaliation for her filing a complaint of sexual harassment. The facts of…
Yesterday, a federal court in Massachusetts held that a jury could reasonably find that the Framingham School Committee retaliated against a social worker because that social worker spoke out about sexual assaults that occurred at Framingham High School (“FHS”). According to the court, a jury could reasonably determine that the…