This week’s blog entry is an update on a previous blog entry and a discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision in Comcast, which involves the causation standard for §1981. Of course, what we are interested in is whether Comcast necessarily means the Supreme Court will decide but for causation is the standard for ADA
McDonnell Douglas
Failure to Accommodate, Direct Evidence, and Adverse Action
Today’s blog entry is going to be my last substantive blog entry of the year. My daughter is on break the last two weeks of December, and just about everybody takes the Christmas season off anyway. The very last blog entry of the calendar year is when I traditionally do my top 10 Understanding the…
Lewis v. Union City Yet Again
Direct Evidence is a Smoking Gun

Today’s blog entry discusses two cases, both dealing with smoking guns (hence, the cannon above).
One is from the Sixth Circuit, Baum v. Metro Restoration Services, Inc., Decided on April 11, 2019. The other is EEOC v. Crain Automotive Holdings LLC from the Eastern District of Arkansas, also…
Does a Failure to Accommodate Claim Require an Adverse Action?
Today’s blog entry will be the last substantive blog entry of the year. Next week, is the annual Understanding the ADA greatest hits for 2018. This week’s case deals with the question of what happens when you have both a failure to accommodate and a lack of adverse action. Is the plaintiff out of luck?…
Judge Kavanaugh and Persons with Disabilities
Before getting started on the blog entry of the week, next week is the Jewish new year. I want to take the opportunity to wish all of my Jewish brethren a happy and healthy new year for them and their families. It also means that no one should be surprise if the blog entry for…
Honest Belief Rule
Today’s case, to DeWitt v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company deals with the honest belief rule. This rule allows an employer to justify a termination if it honestly believes its reason for doing so was valid regardless of whether it actually was. As is usual, the blog entry is divided into categories: facts; court’s reasoning; and…
McDonnell-Douglass and the ADA; An Imperfect fit
In employment discrimination cases, there are two kinds of cases (those involving direct evidence and those involving indirect evidence). Direct evidence cases are the proverbial smoking gun. That is, the plaintiff has explicit evidence that discrimination occurred. However, in most situations, it is difficult if not impossible to find direct evidence, rather things taken together…