Practice Areas

Employment Case Summaries

Waitress fails to prove that her employer discriminated against her due to her pregnancy:
Plaintiff was a waitress for Employer. She contends she was laid off due to her pregnancy and denied reemployment after the child was born. The employer contends that the Plaintiff voluntarily quit her employment. The Iowa Civil Rights Act prevents an employer from firing an employee because of her sex or pregnancy. To prove a case of pregnancy discrimination, the Employee must demonstrate that: (1) she was pregnant; (2) she was qualified for her position; and (3) her termination occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. In this case, the court determined that the Plaintiff had not established that she was terminated due to her pregnancy. Ash v. Aliu, 2010 Iowa App. LEXIS 23 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 22, 2010).

Camera in bathroom can constitute an invasion of employee's privacy rights:
Employer placed surveillance cameras in the bathroom which were not always operational. The right to privacy can be invaded by unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another. Under this theory, one who intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, upon the solitude or seclusion of another or his private affairs or concerns, is subject to liability to the other for invasion of privacy, if the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Even though the images from the surveillance camera were not high quality or consistent, there was enough evidence for a court to determine that the employee's privacy rights were invaded. Koeppel v. Speirs, 2010 Iowa App. LEXIS 25 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 22, 2010).

Employee was discriminated against because she did not wear dresses or makeup:
The employee alleged that she lost a job she had done well, solely because of unlawful sex stereotyping. The employee had a history of good performance at the employer. The employee had no prior disciplinary record and had received two merit based pay raises. The court found that an employer who discriminated against women because they did not wear dresses or makeup, was engaging in sex discrimination because the discrimination would not occur but for the victim's sex. Lewis v. Heartland Inns of Am., L.L.C., 591 F.3d 1033, 1036 (8th Cir. Iowa 2010).