Rojgar Job News

Can an employer ever win a motion for summary judgment on a discrimination case in state court? The prevailing wisdom is no.  A fool’s errand, some might say. But a new Connecticut Appellate Court case (Alvarez v. City of Middletown) shows at least what’s possible. The case has some details that stand out. The Plaintiff was a probationary police officer who was seeking a more permanent position. In the course of his employment, he had performance deficiencies that were noted. In February 2015, an individual made a complaint that the Plaintiff groped her and made her feel his genitals through his pants while he was responding to a reported domestic incident at her home. While the investigation was ongoing, the Plaintiff’s performance still showed deficiencies including a failure to file written reports.  He was sent a letter that he would face a probationary discharge but he resigned before that happened. The Plaintiff then sued on race and national origin....

You have tried to counsel, to mediate and to make every adjustment you possibly can, but in the end you have run into a single insurmountable fact about your employee with the attitude – you just can’t bear him any longer. He is the dragging anchor of your otherwise happy little ship and must be cut loose for everyone’s benefit, potentially including his own. We know that Employment Tribunals get very sticky about conduct or performance cases dressed up to look like “some other substantial reason” loss of trust and confidence clashes. The ETs see this (often entirely properly) as the employer’s attempt to side-step the usual fair dismissal requirements of prior warnings, time to improve, etc. To the extent that your employee’s attitude problem manifested itself primarily through conduct or performance, that is what you should ideally do. This is partly because it might take the shock of formal procedures to jolt your employee out of whatever dar...

With more of us working from home than ever during the COVID-19 public health crisis, employers and employees face unique challenges. Videoconferences have replaced in-person meetings, and our pets, kids, and partners are now our temporary “coworkers.” From the occasional mild annoyances, like barking dogs and ringing doorbells, to the truly humiliating examples trending on social media (be sure to turn off the camera on your videoconference before using the restroom!), employers must take added steps to ensure a safe, respectful, harassment-free, fully clothed workplace. No Shirt, No Shoes, No Employment Virtual meetings and videoconferences have replaced in-person meetings and working in the office, resulting in countless viral examples over the past several months of employees engaging in regrettable behavior they (hopefully) wouldn’t dream of partaking in at the office. From attending videoconferences sans pants to brazenly consuming alcohol during working hours (...