Supreme Court Tackles Reverse Discrimination

April 24, 2009 By

The political bent of the U.S. Supreme Court is once again on display in Washington. This time, the issue is reverse discrimination, a term generally used to challenge the effects that affirmative action may have on white men.

In a case argued April 22, 2009, white and Hispanic firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut are challenging a city decision to ignore promotional exam results. The 2003 test was created to determine who’d be promoted to captain or lieutenant. When no African Americans scored high enough, New Haven officials worried they’d be sued by minorities and so decided to disregard the test. Instead of avoiding trouble, however, New Haven brought it on themselves. Non-minority firefighters who passed the test now claim they worked hard on what they thought was a fair process only to be denied promotion because of their race.

The Supreme Court will decide whether New Haven’s conduct was discriminatory or not. As usual, the supposedly apolitical Court is split along partisan lines. Discrimination laws are not popular among [Read more...]

Filed Under: Affirmative Action, Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

COBRA Law Benefits Expanded

March 26, 2009 By

It’s commonly known as the “Stimulus Bill,” and is officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is the huge federal bill passed in February at the urging of President Barack Obama. While the overall idea was to stimulate the American economy, included in the bill’s details are unexpected benefits like the one that laid off employees will enjoy under COBRA. As most know, this federal law guarantees continued health care coverage for workers who lose their jobs, regardless of the reason. Under the Stimulus Bill, employers now must cover 65% of the COBRA premium for employees fired – or laid off, if that term is preferred, the distinction being meaningless in this context – between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. This percentage must be paid for up to nine months, but applies only to periods of time between [Read more...]

Filed Under: COBRA, Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , ,

Massachusetts Employment Law: Take Care With Interview Questions

February 12, 2009 By

Job interview questions are an often overlooked area of discrimination law but one that can pack a real punch to the jaws of Massachusetts employers who get careless. Many don’t realize that screening out job candidates via seemingly innocent questions that may touch upon age, gender or religion is just as illegal as firing an employee because he’s handicapped. Both federal and state anti-discrimination agencies have produced detailed descriptions of what a job interviewer can say to a candidate and what he can’t. The wrong question can result in a lawsuit almost as easily as other acts of discrimination can.

In some cases, the damages can be quite high. In one, a car dealer was ordered to pay $100,000 to an applicant after it solicited his age on an application just by asking about his military service. The prospective employee never got an interview but sued because, he said, his 1959 [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , ,

Recovery Act Requires Massachusetts Employers To Pay Cobra Costs

January 14, 2009 By

Most people probably wouldn’t associate a $700 billion-plus economic recovery bill with the plight of former employees who need to make hefty health insurance payments. Then again, most people don’t think like members of the U.S. Congress. Among the many lesser publicized aspects of the latest mega-bill, passed in February 2009, is a requirement that employers who fire employees between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 pay 65% of their former workers’ health care costs under COBRA for a period of up to nine months.

The benefits payments don’t kick in until February 17, 2009, but workers let go before that date can still enjoy coverage. Under the new law, employers must make the payments first and recoup them through tax credits at year end. COBRA is the federal law that provides for continued health care coverage to employees who lose their jobs, regardless of the reason for separation. Under the 2009 bill, the 65% benefit also applies [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , ,
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