The Cushman & Wakefield Discrimination Case

The employment law case that this paper will be about is the Cushman & Wakefield discrimination case. This case was filed in Baltimore, MD in 2014 with the Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In March 2017, the law suit was settled. This case is about a woman by the name of Toi Patterson who filed suit with the EEOC against her employer Cushman & Wakefield in Columbia, MD. Ms. Paterson worked for this company for nine years working her way up to senior administrator. She asked for medical leave for breast cancer treatment under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). She requested a reasonable accommodation to return to work on a part-time basis while she underwent treatment and notified her employer that she may need addition unpaid
They were to pay $100,000 to settle the lawsuit (Cushman & Wakefield, 2017). Another stipulation was that they had to revise their current accommodation policies and distribute to all their employees. In the policy, they will identify part-time and modified work schedules, as well as unpaid leave, as examples of accommodations (Cushman & Wakefield, 2017). They were directed to provide annual ADA training to all managers, supervisors, and human resources personnel at the Columbia location, and inform all newly hired employees about reasonable accommodation policies and the ADA. They will also report to the EEOC on how they handle any complaints of disability discrimination and post a notice regarding the settlement (Cushman & Wakefield,
One advantage to having workplace policies in place is to provide clear and concise information to employees about their expected standard of behavior in the workplace. The policies should be flexible to enable the employer to manage employment issues in accordance with the circumstances which may arise (Raleigh, 2016). Another way to make the organization free from violations of employment law is to ensure that its policies are followed at every level of management. This will avoid any claim that an employee has been unfairly treated (Raleigh, 2016). Educating all employees regarding the requirements of the policies and promptly notifying them of any changes to the policies can also help the organization be violation free from employment law issues (Raleigh, 2016). To minimize legal risks, consider both the content and the wording of your policies and procedures. They must be accurate, complete, and thorough. They must be precisely worded and clearly written so that they are understandable and usable. They must also be communicated and updated (Campbell, 1998). By implementing policies and procedures into the workplace and ensuring that everyone is trained helps to prevent misunderstanding and can prevent an employer from being