Las Vegas Employment Law Blog

Over the course of our working lives, we hear a lot of things about what our employers legally can and can't do. But not all of these "facts" may be true. Here are 10 myths about your employee rights:

1. An interviewer can't ask you about your religion, national origin, marital status, etc. In most states, actually asking these questions isn't illegal. But it is illegal to base a hiring decision on your answers to them, which is why smart interviewers stay away from them. It is illegal, however, to ask about disabilities.

It's hard to believe that these days, some employees are still subjected to harassment and discrimination based on the color of their skin. But workplace discrimination remains a serious problem among some employers. Fortunately, employees do have recourse.

Two black employees of an auto dealership in Henderson, Nevada, were recently awarded $150,000 in a settlement following claims they were subjected to discrimination. The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission filed the suit, which claimed that one of the employees endured racial slurs and was humiliated when his boss told him to get down on his knees and beg for his job. The suit also alleged that when the man spoke up about the hostile work environment, he was unlawfully fired. The other black employee was also fired, allegedly because of the company's unfair disciplinary policies.

Bans on smoking in the workplace are fairly widespread these days. Long gone are the days when workers were allowed to smoke indoors, at their desks or in board meetings. And increasingly, companies are either pushing designated smoking areas behind buildings and other places where they can't be easily seen, or banning smoking on the grounds altogether. But things are getting even more bleak for those who enjoy a cigarette to take the edge off: They aren't even getting past the interview stage. Is it workplace discrimination, or is it fully within an employer's right to demand their workers don't light up, whether at work or anywhere else?

Hospitals are the primary employers refusing to hire people whose urine tests show the presence of nicotine, whether it comes from cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or smoking cessation products like patches. The policies are designed to promote health and reduce insurance premiums. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke causes 443,000 premature deaths and costs the nation $193 billion in health bills and lost productivity.

In June 2011, the United States Supreme Court notably held that the members of a class action lawsuit, alleging gender discrimination against Wal-Mart, did not have enough in common to continue to sue as a class. The Supreme Court specifically found that the individual circumstances of the over 1 million female employees nationwide were too diverse and therefore could not satisfy the class action requirement that common questions of law or fact must exist between all class members.  The Court, however, did not rule on the merits of the discrimination claims.

In response to this ruling, five of these original Plaintiffs have narrowed their lawsuit by naming just California stores as Defendants in their class action. These women filed suit on October 27, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. This amended lawsuit asserts that Wal-Mart stores in California failed to promote women and paid women less than equally qualified men in similar positions.  For instance, the amended lawsuit alleges that a California Regional Vice President suggested that women did not seek management positions because of their "family commitments," and that a California District Manager reasoned that he needed to pay a male employee more than a female employee because the male employee "supports his wife and two kids."

At least 95,000 current and former female employees of Wal-Mart may be covered by this new complaint.

Attorneys for the Plaintiffs plan to re-file similar lawsuits in other states and regions across the country.