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The Murphy Law Practice Board Certified Labor & Employment Attorney

⚖️ I discuss workplace rights, issues, and cases.

Board certified employment lawyer who is striving to educate employees & working daily eradicate (employment) discrimination....

10/13/2026

Sometimes the resignation is exactly what the employer wants.

Why terminate an employee when you can make the workplace so unpleasant that the employee leaves voluntarily?

But here’s the catch: proving that your employer wanted you to quit is not the same as proving constructive discharge.

And resigning can complicate your legal claims, even when your employer’s conduct was unlawful.

Before you hand over that resignation letter, understand what you may be giving up—and what rights you may still have.

Don’t let your employer make the decision for you. Make an informed one.

⚖️ Employment law | Texas & Maryland
🔗 Consultation link in bio.

10/08/2026

Applying for jobs online? Pay attention to the screening questions.

Before submitting an application, review any questions about your age, date of birth, graduation dates, or other personal information.

Not every question is unlawful. But employers generally cannot use your age to exclude you from employment if you’re 40 or older.

If you encounter a screening question that concerns you, document the exact question, the employer, and the position before submitting your application.

And remember: You don’t have to prove how an algorithm works before raising a legitimate concern about discriminatory screening.

The law protects applicants, not just employees who have already been hired.

EEOC v. iTutorGroup, Inc., No. 1:22-cv-02565 (E.D.N.Y. 2023).

10/06/2026

A performance write-up doesn’t become unlawful simply because it comes after medical leave or an accommodation request.

But the before-and-after matters.

If you have years of positive reviews and then suddenly begin receiving criticism after your employer learns about a disability, you request an accommodation, or you take protected leave—pay attention.

Save your prior evaluations. Keep the new write-ups. Document when your employer learned about your medical condition or request. And look closely at whether the reasons being given now match your actual employment history.

None of that automatically proves discrimination or retaliation.

But employment cases are often built by comparing what the employer says now with what its own records said before.

Ramsey v. San Jacinto College District, No. 25-20195 (5th Cir. Aug. 5, 2026).

The Fifth Circuit reversed summary judgment on Ramsey’s ADA discrimination and retaliation claims and her FMLA retaliatory-discharge claim and sent them back for further proceedings. Ramsey has not yet won those claims. (Justia Law)

09/24/2026

Can your employer tell you that your benefits might not be guaranteed if you support a union?

That’s the question the Fifth Circuit recently considered in a case involving a pregnant Starbucks employee.

During a one-on-one meeting, her manager discussed Starbucks benefits, including maternity benefits, and then told her that if she was interested in organizing, those benefits could not be guaranteed.

Starbucks argued that it was simply explaining that benefits can change through collective bargaining.

But the Fifth Circuit upheld the NLRB’s finding that, in context, the statement could reasonably be understood as a threat of reprisal for union activity.

This distinction matters: employers can explain how collective bargaining works. They cannot threaten employees with consequences for exercising their right to organize.

Starbucks Corp. v. NLRB, No. 24-60653 (5th Cir. Sept. 4, 2026).

Educational content only. Not legal advice.

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09/22/2026

Most severance agreements include a release of claims — and that release can cover claims you didn't even know you had when you signed. Discrimination. Retaliation. Violations you hadn't figured out yet.

One important exception: if you're 40 or older and waiving age-discrimination claims, the agreement has to comply with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act — 21 days to consider (45 in group layoffs), 7 days to revoke after signing, and more. If it doesn't comply, the waiver may not be enforceable. Even though you signed.

The Supreme Court said so in Oubre v. Entergy.

New here from yesterday's video — I post about workplace rights every week.
I'm building a plain-English severance guide — link in bio if you want me to let you know when it's ready.

Educational content, not legal advice.

09/20/2026

This case is a good reminder that: when an employer says, “We fired you because you broke the rule,” one of the most important questions may be:

What happened to the other employees who broke the same rule?

Sometimes the evidence isn’t just the rule. It’s how the rule was enforced.

Guthrie v. Coal Bed Services, Inc., No. 24-10572 (11th Cir. Sept. 1, 2026).

09/17/2026

You complained to HR. But what exactly did you complain about?

That question can become very important in a retaliation case.

Complaining that your boss is rude, plays favorites, or treats you unfairly does not automatically put your employer on notice that you are opposing unlawful discrimination.

You don’t have to use magic words like “Title VII” or even necessarily say “discrimination.” But your complaint generally needs to communicate—explicitly or through context—that you are opposing conduct you reasonably believe violates an employment discrimination law.

So if you later believe you were retaliated against, one of the first questions an employment lawyer may ask is:

What exactly did you tell your employer?

Not just what you were thinking.
Not just what you meant.
What did you actually communicate?

09/15/2026

Your employer can discriminate against you—and something it didn’t even know about at the time can still affect what you recover.

That’s the concept of after-acquired evidence.

If, during a discrimination lawsuit, an employer discovers misconduct that would have caused it to terminate you had it known about it, that evidence generally does not erase the original discrimination.

But it can affect the remedy.

That’s why an old job application, résumé, or other employment record can suddenly become very important during litigation.

The discrimination doesn’t disappear. But what the employer ultimately owes may change.

McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., 513 U.S. 352 (1995).

09/13/2026

Sometimes the evidence of retaliation is subtle.

And sometimes the employer puts it in the termination notice.

Jeremy Ellis filed an EEOC charge. His employer believed some statements in the charge were false, investigated him, suspended him without pay, and ultimately fired him.

But the written termination notice specifically referenced his EEOC charge and the statements made in it.

A jury found retaliation and awarded Ellis $250,000. The Eleventh Circuit upheld the judgment.

Important distinction: filing an EEOC charge does not protect an employee from discipline for separate misconduct. But in this case, the jury had evidence from which it could find that the EEOC charge itself was a reason for the termination.

When employees ask me, “How do you prove retaliation?” this case is a good reminder:

Sometimes you look at timing.
Sometimes you look at changing explanations.
And sometimes you look at what the employer put in writing.

Ellis v. Sheriff, Hillsborough County, Florida

09/09/2026

I hear this all the time:

“The EEOC didn’t do anything for me.”

I understand the frustration.

But when I talk about filing an EEOC charge, I’m not giving the EEOC a glowing endorsement. I’m explaining a process that, for most federal discrimination and retaliation claims, you generally have to go through before you can get to court.

The EEOC may investigate. It may offer mediation. It may find cause. Or it may close your charge without giving you the result you hoped for.

But a closed charge does not necessarily mean you don’t have a case.

Sometimes the EEOC is simply the door you have to walk through before you can get to the courthouse.

And missing that door—or the deadline to walk through it—can cost you your claim.

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