When a railroad worker returned from drug-rehab leave, he said co-workers harassed him by implying he was still using drugs. He sued, claiming a disability-based hostile environment. The court dismissed his case ...
Employers can’t guarantee that employees will never feel offended by a co-worker’s comment about race, ethnicity, sex or other protected characteristics. But employers can and should make sure employees know what to do if they do feel offended or harassed—and then track exactly how the matter was handled.
Employees who complain about alleged discrimination by a supervisor can set up a retaliation claim if they are disciplined or otherwise punished shortly after complaining. Relying solely on the say-so of the boss the employee initially complained about may cause trouble if that supervisor’s reasons are flimsy.
You need a zero-tolerance policy banning all comments about race or ethnicity. It doesn’t matter whether the race being singled out is a majority or a minority race. The act of harassing someone because of his race is illegal either way. It also doesn’t add one bit to workplace harmony or the bottom line.
Isolated comments may not create a hostile work environment, but they can mushroom into a bigger problem. That’s especially true if you don’t discipline those who offend. What to do: Don’t wait until you have a full-blown hostile environment on your hands. You can terminate the offender before harm is done.
Most employers have policies in place to prevent or stop sexual harassment by supervisors and co-workers. Today, that isn’t enough. The reality is that you must also protect employees from customer or client harassment. Unless your sexual harassment policy addresses such harassment, you may find yourself facing a jury trial.
Not everyone is going to get along with everyone else at work. The fact is that some employees may be more difficult to like than others. But as long as an employer makes sure its “difficult” employees are treated with civility, it doesn’t matter that co-workers ignore them or form their own little cliques.
For years, employers have grappled with the question of what exactly is “sexual harassment” and how much sexual banter is allowable. But lost in that debate is the fact that a workplace is just that—a place where work is supposed to be done. Here’s one good way to end this legal tightrope-walking and prevent potential problems down the line: Implement a policy that clearly bans sexual banter. Then punish those in violation.
Most HR professionals like to think their workplaces are free from slurs and other behavior that smacks of racial hostility. If only that were always true! Sadly, bigotry sometimes rears its ugly head. But the good news is that an isolated comment probably isn’t enough to make you liable. That is, unless the comment is made by a supervisor.
Here’s a simple rule of thumb: Managers and supervisors should never comment on any aspect of an employee’s sexuality. That goes for female supervisors, too, who may believe that only women can be victims of sexual harassment.
Here’s an important reminder for all managers and supervisors: If the workplace becomes a battleground over employee religious beliefs, count on a lawsuit. The best policy: Keep religion out of the workplace as much as possible. After all, we’re here to work.
Fortunately, courts don’t have the time or inclination to guarantee that every workplace is free of irritations or minor problems. Those can include what some employees may interpret as sexual harassment. One relatively innocuous pass isn’t usually enough for an employer to lose a case in court.
Discipline one day after complaint? See you in court ... Obscure terms could trigger race-bias suit ... Teach front-line staff how to handle legal papers ... Employees can have more than one "employer" ... Employee is her own lawyer? Don't pull punches.
If bosses question employees about sexual relationships, you could wind up facing a sexual harassment complaint. And it may not be a simple case of quid pro quo harassment, but rather a hard-to-defend hostile environment claim.
No sexual harassment policy will protect your company if what is going on in the cubicles or on the shop floor is blatantly offensive. It may not even matter that the offended or harassed employee didn’t follow your complaint policy and report the harassment to upper management. If she tried to talk to her immediate supervisor, that’s enough.
Some employees are more sensitive to potential sexual harassment than others. What some might disregard as innocent flirtation, others might consider an unwelcome come-on. Courts often throw out harassment suits that start that way, but why tempt fate—or spend time and money defending yourself?
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t decided any big sexual harassment cases for several years. That doesn’t mean the problem has disappeared or that employers should slack off in their efforts to prevent and fix sexual harassment. Instead, review your training program to make sure sexual harassment gets the attention it deserves. Then be sure to investigate any harassment complaints you receive.
In a significant ruling interpreting the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Supreme Court recently expanded employers’ potential exposure to sexual harassment claims and damages by holding that an employer is strictly liable for sexual harassment committed by a supervisor, even if the supervisor does not directly supervise the employee who is harassed.
Here’s a simple rule of thumb: Managers and supervisors should never comment on any aspect of an employee’s sexuality, the ability of men and women to get along or be managed by the other sex, or the relative age of employees. It’s too easy for employees to misinterpret those comments—leading to an expensive lawsuit.
Occasionally, an employee correctly uses an obscure word that someone else mistakes for an offensive one. When that happens, suggest using another term even if the term they are using is technically appropriate.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that managers who actually supervise the work of subordinates have a duty to report sexual harassment when they learn of it. If they don’t, their employer can still be held liable.
Employers are rightly sensitive about the effects of any kind of sexually explicit talk at work. That’s because some employees are looking for anything to sue over. But now the 2nd Circuit, which has jurisdiction over New York, has handed down a ruling sharply limiting frivolous cases that could have set unrealistic employer obligations.
Q. A female employee has made a hostile environment claim for the first time. She alleged that her male supervisor began sexually harassing her more than two months ago. She claims she didn’t complain sooner because she feared her supervisor would retaliate against her. Based on her excuse, will we still be able to defend against a lawsuit claim by asserting that she unreasonably failed to use the complaint procedure available to her to prevent and stop any alleged harassment?
In today’s competitive and troubled economy, employers may have to demand more of employees. But that can take a psychological toll on employees who don’t handle stress well. Employers need to be aware that additional burdens heaped on employees may actually trigger new disabilities that in turn have to be accommodated.
Employers that have anti-harassment policies and clearly communicate them already have a leg up. But the real winners are employers that also carefully track every harassment complaint. They increase their odds of winning harassment cases because they can show whether an employee complained about behavior when it happened.
Workplace survival can require a thick skin. Some employees are just too sensitive to what co-workers say, assuming that every overheard comment is directed at them or meant to offend them in some way. The fact of the matter is that even a few incidents that border on harassment or religious intolerance aren’t enough to trigger a successful lawsuit.
Sometimes, one or two stupid comments are all it takes to fuel a lawsuit. Take, for example, talk that could be construed as ageist. It isn’t unusual to hear managers and supervisors throw around the word “dinosaur” or use the term “fresh blood” to describe changes to the workforce. Is it code for age discrimination?
When it comes to a racially hostile environment, management must stay on top of the situation. As soon as anyone in HR or upper management gets even the slightest hint that hostile bias has reared its head on the front line, jump into action.
As an employer, you aren’t required to absolutely ensure your employees never suffer hurt feelings. That’s impossible. Nevertheless, you are required to stop behavior that could escalate into a hostile environment. Be sure to track how you punish co-workers who get into arguments and use inappropriate language.
In a case the EEOC probably will appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal trial court has ruled that comments about a lactating mother’s breasts over a two-month period weren’t pervasive enough to create a sexually hostile environment.
Sometimes, people don’t realize the language they are using may be offensive to members of a protected class. That can happen when a term has been in use for decades or even centuries and has become separated from its original meaning or context. Consider a recent case involving usage of the term “tar baby.”
Experts say Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, will bring a pragmatic perspective on employment law to the High Court if she is confirmed. Here's a rundown of employment law decisions she has rendered from her current seat on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Does your organization allow or tacitly condone it (by ignoring it) when employees criticize a co-worker who associates with members of a different protected class? If so, you should be aware that disciplining that employee can bring on a lawsuit.
Employees do the darnedest things, and it’s often up to HR to clean up the resulting mess. Better to have prevented it in the first place. Two recent news stories point out problems that could have been stopped with simple policies on use of technology in the workplace. With the right handbook lingo, much corporate embarrassment could have been avoided.
When employees claim they were forced to work in a racially hostile environment, the law says they can go back far into the past to show a pattern of harassment. Taken together, isolated acts that wouldn’t be severe enough to create a hostile environment may create liability. But an employer doesn’t have to be a hostage to its past.
There’s no sure way to protect your organization from a rogue supervisor who sexually harasses a subordinate. However, you can reduce your liability with a strong, proactive stand against any supervisor/subordinate personal relationships.
Employees do the darnedest things, and HR and managers frequently wind up trying to undo the damage. Our newest webinar — Today's Most Bizarre Recent Workplace Cases: How to Prevent Outrageous Workplace Behavior (May 28) — tells tales of outrageous employee behavior ... and the lawsuit against the employer that followed. Here’s our take on the topic, with cases pulled from the pages of our HR Specialist newsletters.
New supervisors don’t always manage their subordinates as well as more experienced managers. They’re going to make some mistakes along the way. And not every early mistake will mean a winning lawsuit for the subordinate. As the following case shows, it takes more than one stupid move to create a hostile environment.
Graffiti usually appears where the author is least likely to be caught creating it. Popular workplace spots are lavatories and work site portable toilets. And offensive graffiti can create an almost instantly hostile work environment. That’s why HR should remind supervisors to immediately report any graffiti—no matter where they find it.
When racism raises its ugly head at work, employers must do two things. First, make sure everyone understands your company policy prohibits any form of harassment, including that of a racial nature. Then punish anyone caught violating that policy. And if racist graffiti is involved, remove the graffiti as soon as possible.
Some employers assume that for a hostile environment claim to have merit, the victim must practically have a nervous breakdown. Not so. A strong-willed employee may be able to tolerate a barrage of abuse in good spirits, but may still have a hostile work environment claim.
Unless it’s egregious and outrageous (something like a clearly racist epithet or a dangling noose), a one-time derogatory comment likely won’t become the foundation for a hostile environment lawsuit—if you take immediate steps to stop any escalation.
Some employees are more sensitive to criticism than others and may also be more likely to file hostile work environment lawsuits. Managers with difficult subordinates would do well to track the behavior. It can be used in court to show that those subordinates have a skewed perception of the workplace.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the city of Bonita Springs, claiming it violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by harboring a racially hostile environment in the Department of Parks and Recreation.
American workers can access the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging and other forms of electronic communications from anywhere at any time. While electronic communication helps people do their jobs, it also leaves a trail. A telephone conversation relies on the memory of two participants, but e-mail and IM discussions can be preserved for years to come. And, given the casual way so many people fire off e-mail these days, that can spell legal trouble for employers.
Here’s another reason to strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy for any sexist, religious or racial comments: Even comments or behavior directed at one individual can create a hostile environment for others who belong to the same protected class.
Here’s another good reason to insist that HR handle all terminations: It’s much harder for employees to sue the company for its supervisors’ alleged harassment or discrimination if the HR office has primary responsibility for discharge decisions. Here’s why ...
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act protects employees from sexual harassment by co-workers. But what happens if management stops the harassment but the co-workers find other ways to make life miserable for their victims? It’s HR’s responsibility to make sure a victim of sexual harassment isn’t targeted for other mistreatment ...
Whether a work environment is actually sexually hostile depends on whether that’s how an average person would perceive it. A supersensitive person won’t get to sue for sexual harassment if an ordinary person would brush off the alleged harassment.
The 4th Circuit just made it easier for employees to sue for having to work in a hostile environment. The court said that unpleasant and offensive conduct aimed as one’s sex or race does not have to happen in the presence of the employee who winds up complaining. Conduct witnessed by other employees can be used as evidence ...
Three former detectives for the Nassau County Police Department’s 8th Precinct in Levittown have won a $1 million verdict for sexual harassment and discrimination.
Soon after a Pennsylvania sales company hired Tamara Klopfenstein as a receptionist, she had performance problems right away. But the real trouble began when Klopfenstein received an e-mail from a VP that said one of her “many responsibilities … is making and getting coffee.”
Employees who suffer reprisals after complaining about possible discrimination or harassment can sue for retaliation. But they can do so only if they can show they “engaged in protected activity”—that is, that they told their employer about the alleged discrimination or harassment.
Here’s another good reason to tell all managers you’ll tolerate absolutely no ethnic, religious or racial comments: Just one or two comments followed by an adverse employment action may be enough to establish a hostile work environment. And those later acts can extend the time the employee has to file his claim.
If you have employees or operations in New York City, your sexual harassment and discrimination policies must reflect the strict rules employers are required to follow under the New York City Human Rights Law. It all adds up to a challenging HR environment. Your best bet in New York City—adopt a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of sexual, racial or other harassment.
When you think of a sexually hostile work environment, the scenario usually involves crude sex talk, bawdy photos and other prurient activities. But those aren’t the only markers of a hostile environment. In fact, a pervasive anti-female attitude that has nothing to do with sex can lead to a lawsuit, too ...
Just one incident of name-calling or behavior that could be interpreted as racist—if sufficiently severe—might be enough to color other incidents in a racist light. And if a complaint leads to court, that may mean the harassed employee could get a chance to show a jury just how unpleasant co-workers made his life.
No matter how hard you work to make sure your workplace is a model of fairness and civility, you can’t rule out the possibility that an employee will come to HR with a claim that she’s being forced to work in a racially or sexually hostile environment. How you handle that complaint may make the difference between nipping an ugly problem in the bud and paying a huge jury award.
Amanda Thaxton, a former office assistant at the North Carolina State Ethics Commission, has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit claiming she was fired in retaliation for speaking with the State Auditor’s Office about possible protocol violations ...
Employers are supposed to make sure that harassment doesn’t happen—and stop it if it does. But sometimes, the employee complaining the loudest may actually be part of the problem. If that’s the case, the responsible thing to do is to stop all the harassment, from all the participants ...
October is breast cancer awareness month. And he statistical chances of having
female employees with breast cancer (or who are survivors of breast
cancer) are high. One court says you’d better not discriminate against
women with breast cancer or get ready to write a check with a pink pen
…
Employees are entitled to work in a harassment-free environment—and that includes more than freedom from harassment by supervisors and co-workers. Employers also have to take reasonable steps to protect workers from harassment by customers, clients and others over which the employer has some control ...
Here’s a way to create management problems and encourage potential lawsuits: Just tell minority managers and supervisors that they can expect their subordinates to harass them and ignore directives because of prejudice in the ranks. The correct approach: Have a solid anti-harassment policy in place and enforce it ...
If you don’t punish it right away, even a single racist comment by a manager can result in an employee filing a racially hostile environment claim. Here’s why: If the employee on the receiving end is also being dealt with harshly by her boss, she can effectively link the comment with the other poor treatment ...
Perhaps because controlling Internet access to pornographic images isn’t technically difficult, and because word tends to get around pretty quickly if a co-worker is showing porn to co-workers, courts now are clamping down more on employers that don’t do enough to make sure the workplace is not a sexual cesspool ...
Be sure to take it seriously when employees come forward with sexual harassment complaints. Ignoring their complaints could embolden the harassers. To prevent such an unnecessary escalation, make sure you visit the work site and talk to everyone. Check for telltale signs of harassment, such as offensive posters or jokes on bulletin boards ...
It sounds like a great idea: Instead of risking a large jury award in court, get employees to agree in advance to have an arbitrator mediate all employment disputes. But, in practice, arbitrators often bend over backward to give employees a break. Plus, an arbitrator’s decision is hard to undo ...
It’s a fact of life—not every employee is going to get along with everyone else in your shop. Some managers and supervisors will have more trouble managing a particular employee than others. However, unless the reason for a supervisor's criticism is the employee’s protected status (e.g., race or age), the employee won’t win a hostile-environment lawsuit if the “hostility” isn’t extremely severe ...
Tell your managers to take note: Allowing one or two employees to poison the workplace, even with low-level harassment, is dangerous. A constant barrage of racially tinged comments may warrant a jury trial if someone claims the workplace is a racially hostile environment. The charge: The harassment is pervasive, even if it is not severe ...
Perhaps because controlling Internet access to pornographic images isn’t technically difficult, and because word tends to get around pretty quickly if a co-worker is showing porn to co-workers, courts now are clamping down more on employers that don’t do enough to make sure the workplace is not a sexual cesspool ...
It’s not unusual to read about racially motivated incidents that occur at work. Slurs, graffiti and other acts of intimidation can lead to hostile environment lawsuits. By the time the graffiti shows up or the slurs are uttered, some of the damage has already been done. However, smart employers react immediately and try to limit the damage ...
Smart employers don’t leave anything to chance when it’s time to fire someone—especially when the employee facing termination thinks he might have a discrimination claim. Instead of taking a chance that something said during the termination meeting will be misinterpreted, they make sure the meeting includes at least two company representatives ...
Don’t dismiss a sexual harassment complaint just because an employee waits to come forward. A recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals case shows that employees can prove they really did feel harassed even if they waited a long time before complaining ...
When employees think they are working in a hostile environment, emotions often run high. If an employee believes he is working under intolerable conditions, he may strike back with a harassment campaign of his own. Anonymous letters, e-mails and other unconventional forms of communication may amount to reverse harassment—and you don’t have to tolerate it ...
Employers that prepare as if they will be sued over every employment decision will win most discrimination cases. If you follow certain guidelines, chances are no fired employee will successfully sue you for discrimination or retaliation. Employers that get sloppy most often lose lawsuits ...
When it comes to reporting sexual harassment, employees have an obligation to use their employer's complaint process, even if doing so may be uncomfortable. If they don’t, they may lose the right to sue for a hostile work environment. But what happens if an employee has tolerated mild harassment for years without complaining? ...
What happens if an employee has tolerated mild harassment for years without complaining and then the behavior escalates? If the employee stops work, takes disability leave and then files a sexual harassment complaint, what should you do? ...
Even something as routine as a reprimand may end up being the basis for a lawsuit. That’s why someone in the HR department should be in charge of making sure that all disciplinary actions, including reprimands, are applied fairly and evenhandedly ...
Do your managers and supervisors understand that ostracizing an employee can backfire? Do they make diligent efforts to train everyone equally and include everyone in work-related social events? If not, it’s time to remind them ...
Two employees of the Lakota School District north of Cincinnati resigned after an investigation confirmed they made racially insensitive remarks about black central office officials ...
Sometimes, little digs and inconveniences that don’t individually amount to much can add up to big trouble—especially if a supervisor constantly singles out the sole member of a protected class. Taken together, they can add up to a hostile work environment and a successful discrimination lawsuit ...
You may trust your employees to not harass female colleagues. But do
you trust Howard Stern? The growth of XM and Sirius radios have brought
uncensored programming into cubicles, warehouses and breakrooms. And as
a new court ruling proves, employees who overhear such sexual
banter—even if it’s not directed at them—can sue for harassment…
Supervisors may subject their employers to hostile-environment liability if they make snide comments that can be interpreted as anti-female and then deny even minor opportunities for a woman to do the job she was hired to perform. It’s a case of many small indignities adding up to sex discrimination ...
Generally, employees have to file discrimination lawsuits soon after an adverse employment decision or act of harassment. But sometimes employees can go far back in time if they can tie a recent event to past events. If that happens, a jury may get to hear a litany of complaints, each adding weight to the other ...
The EEOC has filed a second lawsuit against Albertson’s, the Idaho-based grocery store chain, for retaliating against workers in its Aurora distribution center. The first lawsuit, filed in 2006, claimed the center harbored a racially hostile environment against blacks and Hispanics ...
Employees who file discrimination complaints can claim retaliation if they can show that their employers took actions that would dissuade reasonable employees from complaining in the first place. But employees who constantly file complaints probably won’t be able to show retaliation for all but the most egregious punishments. Here’s why ...
If it seems like you’re hearing more vulgar words and behavior spewing forth from employees these days, you’re not alone. It may be time to draft a simple employee civility policy or code of conduct that is separate from your harassment policy. Such a policy gives you more legal leverage to discipline employees who are equal-opportunity verbal abusers. It could protect you if you’re ever sued ...
Many organizations pride themselves on offering religious accommodations. But some may be a little too quick to pat themselves on the back. It’s not enough to simply offer religious accommodations such as flexible schedules or shift swapping to allow worship or even prayer breaks ...
It takes just one unkind comment about an employee’s alleged disability to send an ADA case to trial. What’s more, even if the employee couldn’t otherwise prove she’s disabled, a malicious comment may be enough to convince the court that the employer regarded the employee as disabled. That’s an ADA violation all by itself ...
Not many employers discriminate against members of the majority, but that doesn’t mean it never happens. In fact, white employees do file reverse-discrimination lawsuits, claiming they have been singled out for poor treatment or harassment due to their race. Ironically, a work force that is more diverse may be at greater risk for such lawsuits ...
Do you have a serial harasser on your hands? Has the finger been pointed at the same individual more than once? If so, don’t try to weasel your way out of a confrontation by simply separating the harasser from the harassed. You may get away with it once, but you’re courting trouble (and a potentially big lawsuit) if you try it again ...
Employers covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act don’t have to worry about being sued separately under the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment ...
If, like many employers, you require arbitration to settle employment disputes instead of allowing costly court fights, be aware of a new danger. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently clarified that an employee’s refusal to sign an arbitration agreement when he already has a pending EEOC complaint is protected activity. Firing such an employee for refusing to sign is retaliation ...
Your organization probably has a sexual harassment policy and provides training on how it works. But does your policy give employees more than one way to lodge a complaint? It should. Here’s why ...
Here’s yet another reason to clean up the workplace and make certain it’s free of harassment, graffiti and other evidence of a hostile work environment: Employees can collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in punitive damages even if they weren’t physically or financially harmed by the hostile workplace ...
When it comes to hiring or promotion decisions, courts will rarely meddle when companies make honest decisions—even if those decisions aren’t the best or most rational ones. Unless there’s some other underlying discriminatory reason, judges generally won’t second-guess even boneheaded decisions ...
When office romances sour, scorned lovers often use Title VII to allege that their former lover was a sexual harasser. And even if the lovers are happy, workplace romances can cause problems in the office or on the shop floor. If co-workers feel a love affair results in favoritism, the relationship may lead to charges of conflict of interest, harassment, retaliation or discrimination ...
It may seem terribly unfair, but an angry employee with a discrimination ax to grind may sue your organization in multiple forums for almost exactly the same alleged offense. That’s one good reason to get an attorney involved right away. Your lawyer can push early on to consolidate all the claims into one ...
It’s easy to become isolated in the HR office, especially if you are physically separated from the shop floor or other work locations. So it should come as no surprise that some things that go on outside your limited view may mean trouble. That’s why you need to keep open lines of communication between HR and the field. Make sure all employees know how and where to report sexually or racially hostile language or actions ...
Any presence of pornography in the workplace can spark expensive, reputation-draining lawsuits. You need a policy of zero tolerance: No adult material anywhere, anytime — not on office computers, in e-mails, on videotapes or DVDs.
Open a New York newspaper and chances are you’ll see a headline featuring an employer in deep trouble for allegedly allowing an atmosphere of sexual or racial harassment to flourish. When you receive such a complaint, act immediately. Don’t wait. Often, that’s exactly what the employee’s attorney is hoping. Instead, investigate and reach a conclusion ...
You would think it’s common sense, but apparently it’s not. While viewing pornography may be perfectly legal in one’s home (with some exceptions, such as that containing images of children), such viewing has absolutely no place at work. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals consistently has ruled “the mere presence of pornography in a workplace can alter the ‘status’ of women” and may be objective proof of a hostile environment ...
Many employers have strict policies on giving references for current or former employees seeking other jobs: Keep it simple—dates of employment, positions held and pay rates. But sometimes supervisors supply glowing recommendations anyway. They need to know that if they do, they had better be willing to stick with the accolades, even if their relationships with the employees change ...
Sometimes managers want to handle problems themselves and not involve the HR department or others in the chain of command. But telling employees to keep quiet and not complain to higher-ups actually may amount to retaliation. Threats and warnings, standing alone with no actual consequences, may be “materially adverse employment actions” when retaliation is the charge ...
A noose made of toilet paper was found in a restroom stall in a maintenance building at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. An employee discovered the 10-inch noose hanging from a stall door in the Sullivan Shops building, which is used primarily by staff ...
Sometimes, a problem employee claims harassment as a way to protect herself from legitimate discipline. When that happens, it may be tempting to ignore such claims on the presumption they are bogus. It may be tempting to dismiss her complaints as much ado about nothing. But you’ll ignore her at your own peril ...
When it comes to filing a sexual harassment claim under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, employees have just one year from the date of the alleged sexual harassment to file a complaint. Missing that deadline bars the employee from suing. But sexual harassment rarely occurs in a vacuum, and there’s rarely just one incident ...
Even employees who are no longer working day to day in a hostile environment can sue for harassment. Every federal circuit appeals court that has considered the question has sided with the absent employees on the principle that a hostile work environment may extend beyond the physical workplace ...
Nothing will fuel a lawsuit more than management’s poor behavior. While discharging an employee for any reason is stressful for everyone involved, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way is to get emotional, to shout and unceremoniously throw the employee off the premises ...
“Do that one more time and you’re through!” Have
supervisors in your organization (or even you) uttered this phrase
before? A new court ruling shows that if your firing threats are simply
empty promises, be prepared to pay up in court ... even if you
responded promptly and lawfully to the initial complaint.
Here’s a bit of good news for employers facing an EEOC sexual harassment investigation: A federal court has concluded that, in a pattern-and-practice lawsuit, the EEOC still must show that each and every woman it claims was subjected to a hostile work environment actually experienced the harassment ...
Can your organization produce concrete evidence backing up every disciplinary decision it’s made? You need a tracking system that does just that. Here’s why ...
Whether an employer is liable for workplace harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or state law oftentimes turns on the status of the harasser. If the employee’s supervisor is the harasser, liability for adverse action harassment is automatic. If, however, the harasser is a fellow employee or a supervisor other than the employee’s, the employee must show that the employer knew or should have known about the harassing behavior ...
It’s a stressful world out there, and workplace tension can make matters worse. That’s one reason you may want to consider instituting a civility code at work. Then, if an employee is rude, overbearing or downright offensive, don’t hesitate to discipline her ...
The sexual harassment lawsuit against Anson Dorrance, women’s soccer coach for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is headed to trial after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case ...
It seems everybody’s a comedian at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), where off-color e-mails have been flying. Unfortunately for ODOT, not everyone in the audience is laughing. One incident involved an equal employment opportunity officer in the department’s Lima office, who sent an e-mail to a number of ODOT employees featuring a picture of a woman with large breasts and a caption ...
Sometimes, serious allegations—possible theft, sexual or racial harassment or violence—surface against employees. How you respond can be crucial to limiting your organization’s liability. The best response may be calling a timeout in the form of administrative leave pending an investigation. You can safely do so without fear that the move will generate even more litigation from a suspected wrongdoer ...
It may be the phone call you most dread getting—an employee says the workplace is riddled with hostile behavior, from offensive graffiti in the restroom to racial slurs and innuendo. What’s your first move? Ignoring complaints won’t make them go away. Instead, you need an action plan to deal immediately with the harassment ...
When employees complain they are being harassed or say they work in a racially hostile environment, treat those claims seriously. Thoroughly and completely investigate their complaints, and resolve them as soon as possible ...
Employers that want to limit the use of languages other than English in the workplace take note: Your language restrictions must be reasonable and based on genuine business needs. A simple company preference for English isn’t good enough ...
Question: Think you’ve got a dysfunctional workplace? Take a stroll through the recent 6th Circuit ruling in Parker v. General Extrusions.
The case describes a workplace in which Nancy Parker, one of the few
female employees on the machine-shop floor, was repeatedly taunted,
called names and physically harassed. The response from managers and HR
ranged from mild rebukes to outright humor.
You have a robust sexual harassment policy, and everyone from the lowest level employee to the company president knows how it works. But what happens if an employee tells a supervisor about possible harassment and then asks him or her not to take it up with HR? ...
If an employee says he or she is being sexually harassed, it’s management’s job to take the complaint seriously. Those who don’t may have to pay dearly—because a jury may order that the victim receive punitive damages, too. The quickest way to earn those punitive damages is to make light of complaints. As the following case shows, that can mean an extra payment of three times the actual damages—or even more ...
It's well-established that employees who claim they have been subjected to a hostile work environment but don’t take advantage of their employer’s complaint process won’t get a chance to take their cases to court. Ever since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the Faragher and Burlington Industries cases, employers can use their complaint processes as a defense against co-worker harassment. But what about under state laws, such as the New York State Human Rights Law? ...
While they may make other employees uncomfortable and probably shouldn’t be encouraged, affairs between co-workers (or even between supervisors and subordinates) don’t always mean the rest of the work force is laboring in a hostile work environment ...
The Ohio Fair Employment Practices Act makes it illegal to subject employees to a racially hostile work environment. But not every hostile act does a lawsuit make. Much depends on management’s response to such hostility ...
When it comes to co-worker sexual harassment, it’s not enough to “fix” the problem by transferring the harasser. If you don’t also investigate the underlying complaint, expect a lawsuit when the harasser strikes again ...
It’s true: If you can’t say anything nice, sometimes it’s best not to say anything at all. It’s especially true if an employee has quit and filed a discrimination lawsuit ...
A male corrections officer filed a sexual harassment suit against the city of New York for sexual advances made by a female captain at Riker’s Island ...
f you think sexual harassment involves only those headline-grabbing actions like groping behind closed doors or demands for sex, you're wrong. The law also says that if your organization tolerates employees who single out co-workers of one gender for abusive (nonsexual) treatment, you could be liable for a sexual harassment lawsuit based on a hostile environment ...
If your supervisors think little jokes about pregnancy and childbirth are nothing but harmless banter, set them straight. Use the following case to remind them that singling out pregnant employees is legally dangerous ...
In a recent EEOC race discrimination settlement, Cracker Barrel agreed to pay more than $2 million to 51 current and former employees because of supervisors' actions at three of its Illinois restaurants ...
Question: Last year, my boss reassigned my direct report to a new supervisor
because it "wasn't fair" that the supervisor didn't have a
direct-report secretary while one of her peers did. The consequence of
my boss's action stripped me of my supervisor status, thus preventing
me from attending any supervisor meetings and/or training sessions. Was
this a just act? I’ve had no performance issues and over 20 years of
excellent reviews. Any advice? -- Anonymous
Employees have the legal right to work in a harassment-free environment, and employers must take corrective measures to end harassment when it comes to their attention. It doesn't matter that the harassment comes from customers or others the employer has no control over ...
New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits discrimination against employees because of their “race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, liability for services in the Armed Forces of the United States, disability or nationality” ...
When employees behave rudely or in an insubordinate fashion, supervisors shouldn’t back off discipline because they fear a legal complaint. Your organization can, and should, enforce civility standards ...
A bagel baker at a BP Connect store will proceed with an HIV-discrimination and wrongful-firing suit even though he admitted his firing was justified ...
New Jersey attorneys may be feeling their clients’ pain on a whole new level. A recent district court ruling allowed an employee to sue the attorney who investigated her sexual harassment complaint (as well as her employer) ...
HR Law 101: A few years ago, the EEOC released guidelines that clarify employers' responsibilities in applying the ADA to workers with psychiatric disabilities. The law protects persons with mental disabilities, and employers must reasonably accommodate them ...
HR Law 101: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on race, national origin and religion. The law applies to all employers that have at least 15 full- or part-time workers and includes U.S. companies that employ Americans abroad ...
HR Law 101: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 prohibits discrimination on the basis of "pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions." Employers can't deny a woman a job or a promotion merely because she's pregnant or has had an abortion ...
HR Law 101: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courts are increasingly taking a dim view of employers that don't take decisive action to prevent sexual harassment ...
Some jobs are more difficult than others, and employees who choose to work in tough fields may have to develop a thicker skin. When it comes to deciding whether a work site fosters a "hostile work environment," courts typically decide whether harassment is objectively abusive based on the circumstances of the worker's job ...
Casting admiring glances or making other such flirtatious gestures toward a co-worker isn't sexual harassment under the Florida Civil Rights Act. That law doesn't require employers to guarantee that employees won't ever look at each other in a way perceived as a "come-on" ...
It doesn’t take much for employers to become liable for sexual harassment once someone in authority knows (or should have known) about the probability that harassment will occur. Actual knowledge that harassment has occurred isn’t necessary. In fact, liability can be triggered by something as minor as an employee’s comment that she is “uncomfortable” around a co-worker ...
When employees complain about a sexually hostile environment, it pays to remedy the situation … fast. That’s true even if you don’t believe the actions would amount to illegal harassment ...
If your organization aims to attract a younger, more hip clientele, watch how you convey that idea to employees who don’t fit your target demographic ...
If your HR job includes evaluating claims of sexual harassment and hostile environment, it’s a good idea to approach investigations from two separate but related angles ...
When a co-worker launches a harassment campaign, you must act fast or risk a hostile-environment lawsuit. That means all your managers must know the drill to follow the moment they get wind of harassment ...
Let’s say you promptly investigated a sexual harassment claim and conclude that an employee engaged in conduct that offended sensitive employees but wasn’t outrageous. What do you do? If your aim is to stem a brewing problem, it pays to do more than issue a verbal warning ...
HR Law 101: The EEOC has become proactive in protecting workers from a sexually hostile environment. In 2007 alone, the agency recovered from employers nearly $50 million for victims of harassment ...
Issue: Some supervisors, particularly males, try to bond with employees by giving them nicknames. Risk: When nicknames are insensitive to a protected class (race, ethnicity, etc.), they could trigger hostile-environment ...
There may be areas of your workplace that supervisors, and maybe even HR, rarely visit, such as locker rooms, loading docks and break rooms. But don't take a "hear no evil, ...
You know that ethnic slurs and name-calling have no place in the workplace. But a new court ruling proves that any kind of ethnic intolerance can be punished. If supervisors ...
A new court ruling gives you more reason to consider a "no-dating" rule among your employees or a "no-dating subordinates" rule for your supervisors. At the very least, require supervisors to ...
When training supervisors, stress that they must work harder to prevent workplace intolerance toward employees with physical or mental impairments. Reason: More courts are allowing employees to use the ...
Question: I work for a government agency as a sole support person for about 25 people. With this many people also comes a wide
variety of personalities. A handful of these people tend to take their moods or
personal problems out on me when they give me work to do. I have talked to the
head of our group about this problem and was told to remain even-keeled and not
respond to their rude comments. One such comment: “I don’t want to hear about
it; I just want you to do it.”
That came from a stressed-out employee who was demonstrating angry body language. A personal situation was causing the
stress, and the employee even called in sick the following day.
If I can’t talk to the person giving me an assignment about the assignment, what am I to do? Things
like this happen a couple times a month. When I mentioned that I thought these
instances constituted verbal abuse, the head of our group told me that it would
have to be witnessed, and the witness and I would have to document it. I’m
currently looking for another position and, in the meantime, would like some
suggestions on how to deal with these unpleasantries. -- Anonymous, Washington
You may think that if an employee subjects both male and female co-workers to the same offensive conduct, employees of neither sex can file a sexual-harassment lawsuit. In past cases, ...
Issue: A court ruling said sitcom writers have a "creative necessity" to engage in overtly sexual banter. Risk: While the TV network was allowed to use this defense in a ...
Your best defense against a hostile environment claim is proof that you took quick and effective steps to stop the hostility. But courts won't look kindly on your efforts if you ...
Legal threats from interoffice romance typically come from harassment claims if the relationship sours. But here comes a new threat: employees who claim a "hostile environment" when favoritism caused by another ...
If your workplace has a "creative" side to it, listen up: A court has ruled for the first time that you can defend a sexual harassment claim by arguing a "creative ...
Your organization can defend itself against race discrimination lawsuits in many ways, but a recent ruling illustrates how three excuses will flop in court ...
You've got a new reason to take a harder line on sexual banter and crude antics in the workplace. One of the most conservative courts of appeal sent a clear message ...
Issue: A new ruling lowers the bar on what courts consider sexual harassment. Risk: Allowing "boys to be boys", even if they don't target anyone for abuse, can now cost ...
THE LAW. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although Title VII doesn't specifically mention ...
Don't hesitate to discipline first-time sexual-harassment violators. Even one outrageous comment or act, if severe enough, can make your company liable for fostering ...
For five years, Allen Beach was a marked man at Yellow Freight. Offensive graffiti with his name was scrawled on the walls of dozens of trucks. Some of the milder ...
In another ruling last month, the Supreme Court said employees in some cases can file discrimination charges even if allegations fall outside the statute of limitations. Under Title VII, employees ...
A collector for a financing firm, who was over 40, complained about age-related remarks made by her manager. Nothing was done and the collector was fired, even though she had received ...
Machine operator Louvenia Hall complained that a co-worker repeatedly harassed her. When the company investigated, it found that Hall had returned the favor by harassing him, too. The company's solution: Fire ...
Three Hispanic men were hired as a house-painting crew for a contractor. Typically, the crew checked into the company's office for only two minutes to 15 minutes a day, once in ...
The president of Windermere Relocation Services really wanted to win the Starbucks account. He told Maureen Little, the firm's top corporate services manager, that he wanted to "do whatever it takes ...
A secretary for the Metropolitan Opera's stage director filed a discrimination suit, saying her boss subjected her to a hostile environment and fired her because she isn't a homosexual. The New ...
All patients at Topeka State Hospital posed a danger to themselves or others. Staff members knew that, and the hospital regularly required workers to sign job description documents that mentioned the ...
When Diane Leibovitz heard that two employees of the New York City Transit Authority had been harassed, she claimed that made her a victim of a hostile environment and filed ...
A supervisor reviewing reports on job applicants with two other employees noted that one candidate had told a co-worker, "I hear that making love to you is like making love to ...
Starting today, plan to revise your anti-harassment policies and instruct your staff that harassment based on a worker's disability is against the law. Reason: In a pair of landmark rulings, two ...
A CEO, an HR manager and an attorney walk into a bar .... If any joke in the workplace makes you think, "lawsuit!", you aren't alone. The laws requiring you ...
Cheryl Conner blew away her male co-workers in skills training for her new metal-processing job. The trouble started when she went from the classroom ...
Faced with a bad situation, Wax Works record stores managed to make it even worse, and paid a big price. One of Wax Works' store managers, Kerry Ogden, had compiled ...
After Tammy Blakey sued Continental Airlines for sexual harassment, her co-workers used an online bulletin board to post derogatory gender-based messages ...
The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a lower court ruling that banned an employee from making racial slurs at work. In the case, a group of Latino employees sued ...
