The court, however, concluded that for all purposes other than the severance plan, the plastics division employees were treated as having been terminated. This decision follows the lead of several other circuits. Fortunately, the issue raised by this case is one that is easily solved. Employers should review severance plan documents and revise them as needed. Unfortunately, as this case shows, there are still employers who have not yet taken this protective step.
Most employers believe that all forms of discrimination in the workplace are illegal.
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as lawful discrimination even lawful sex discrimination. One example involves grooming standards. A federal district court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed a sex discrimination suit by a male optometrist against his former employer. The employer warned the optometrist to stop wearing his earring to work, despite the fact that female employees were allowed to wear earrings. When the optometrist ignored the warning, he was fired.