According to an EEOC complaint, Professional Building Systems has subjected African-American employees at its headquarters in Mount Gilead to harassment that included drawings depicting the workers and members of the Ku Klux Klan.
As one of the largest investment management companies in the nation, Malvern-based Vanguard Group is used to making money, not paying it out. That could change now that the firm has been sued for racial discrimination after allegedly refusing to hire a black applicant for a high-level finance job.
According to an EEOC complaint, North Carolina-based Professional Building Systems has subjected black employees in Pennsylvania to harassment that included drawings depicting members of the Ku Klux Klan. The complaint also alleges nooses have been displayed in the workplace ...
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.
Rockford, Ill.-based Area Erectors Inc., has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by 23 workers who alleged racial discrimination. According to the EEOC, the company laid off black workers while keeping equally qualified and tenured white workers.
Here’s a bit of good news: Employees who believe that their co-workers have discriminated against them or harassed them on account of their protected characteristics can’t sue under both Title VII and state tort laws. That takes away one potentially expensive avenue for recovering damages.
Many supervisors and managers have yet to learn they shouldn’t make any comments about an employee’s EEOC or other discrimination complaint. Remind supervisors that any comment about employees’ legal claims can be retaliation—and retaliation is much easier to prove than actual discrimination.
Congratulations! You’ve settled a case. Now make sure the same employee doesn’t sue you again. Remind managers and supervisors to treat the employee exactly like they treat all other employees in the same position.
The Shopper’s Vineyard wine superstore in Clifton has agreed to settle a race discrimination case after the EEOC filed suit on behalf of a black front-line manager who was terminated during an alleged downsizing.
J.C. Penney has agreed to settle a racial discrimination suit filed by Reinell Singh, an African-American employee at a Staten Island store. Singh alleged her supervisor used racially offensive names when referring to her and ultimately fired her because of her race.
A Bronx jury has ordered Bernard Spitzer, father of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, to pay more than $1.3 million to four former employees to settle racial discrimination charges.
Remind all hiring managers and supervisors that absolutely no racial slurs are allowed during an interview—not even in passing or in jest. Applicants who aren’t hired will get a jury trial if they can show that someone with hiring authority uttered a racial slur.
Dulzia Burchette, a black former saleswoman for the preppy-glam Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store chain in New York City, is suing the Ohio-based retailer for racial discrimination.
The borough of Ellwood City has agreed to pay $160,000 to former police chief Richard McDonald to settle charges of racial discrimination. Almost immediately after being hired in June 2007, McDonald clashed with Mayor Donald Clyde ...
Does your organization recruit via “word of mouth?” While
companies may be spending less on recruitment efforts during these
difficult economic times, be careful. A new court ruling says that
relying too heavily on this hiring tactic could, in fact, trigger a
discrimination lawsuit …
Lawsuits may be inevitable in today’s litigious society, but losing them is not. Follow these 10 rules to prevent the most common employment-related lawsuits—or at least increase your chances of winning them.
Dulzia Burchette, a black former saleswoman for Abercrombie & Fitch, is suing the company, claiming racial discrimination and harassment. Burchette says she was harassed when she came to work at the company’s Fifth Avenue store with blonde highlights in her hair.
Luther Spears worked for the Kroger Company for 24 years. He repeatedly applied for management positions in the produce department, but was never promoted. Meanwhile, Spears, who is black, trained younger white employees who were promoted over him. Spears finally filed a complaint with the EEOC ...
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act requires employees to file complaints with the appropriate state agency within one year of an alleged discriminatory act. But what happens if the employee delays going to the agency and instead tries to resolve the complaint using the employer’s own internal process?
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled for the first time on the proof employees must offer to make a religion-based hostile work environment claim stick. The case, Cutler v. Dorn, established that New Jersey courts must decide workplace religious discrimination claims using the same legal standards they use in racial and gender discrimination claims.
Bernard Pettis, who is black, worked for R.R. Donnelley as a materials handler, loading skids for press operator Tim Cain. Whenever Cain, who is white, helped Pettis seal the skids, he would smash Pettis’ hands under the top board, then laugh and tell co-workers, “I got his hands,” or “Ooh, look at him.”
Employees who complain about co-worker or management discrimination against employees are protected from retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. But what about employees who complain to management that their co-workers may be discriminating against customers? Are they protected from retaliation, too? Not in Illinois ...
On May 27, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court further expanded the ability of
employees to sue for retaliation—an area of employment law that has
exploded in recent years.
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? ...
Boda Plumbing of Monroe has agreed to pay $18,500 to Anthrone Cunningham to settle an EEOC racial discrimination lawsuit. Before settling, Boda Plumbing asked the court to consider that Cunningham has “an extensive criminal record ...
Keith Harris and Dennis Alexander, who are black, sued Joseph Orlando, owner of Cobra Construction, for constructive discharge and racial discrimination, saying they were forced to quit out of fear for their lives ...
That’s a trick question. The answer is none. Still, courts hear it
all the time. “We’re an exception to harassment/discrimination laws
because … We’re in a gritty industry …We’re doctors …. We have an
extra-friendly workplace.” Whatever. One company just wrote a $1.5
million check trying that defense. It doesn’t work in 2008...
Ohio may soon join other states in outlawing sexual orientation discrimination by private employers. It may be time for employers to rethink their employment discrimination policies and include sexual orientation. One good first step is to include anti-gay discrimination training in your regular anti-discrimination program ...
Employers that lean heavily on interviews to decide which of two equally qualified candidates to promote should make sure they can later explain the selection process. That means asking participants in panel interviews to take and collect notes on what the interviews covered and how well the candidates did ...
Kyaw Nyunt, a U.S. citizen of Burmese origin, worked for the government agency that broadcasts Voice of America radio programming. After the agency failed to promote Nyunt several times, he filed a complaint alleging age and national origin discrimination. Then he filed a federal lawsuit alleging age, national origin and race discrimination ...
Even though Florida’s Civil Rights Act does not outlaw sexual orientation bias, employers must still comply with local ordinances that do. And employers also should prepare to comply with potential changes in federal laws. Incorporating anti-gay bias training into your regular anti-discrimination training carries a number of benefits ...
Exactly what is race? And who is a member of a protected class based on race? Does the color of one’s skin count more than the country of origin? Those are some of the questions a federal appeals court recently tackled ...
The city of Springfield must pay $150,000 to former patrol officer Rickey Davis, who sued the city for discrimination and retaliation. The U.S. District Court, Central District, in Springfield, denied the city’s appeal for a new trial ...
A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement for more than 150 sheet metal workers in a 37-year-old lawsuit against a union notorious for racial discrimination ...
Few things spur a discrimination suit as fast as a manager’s misplaced paternalistic comment. Remind supervisors that employees should choose for themselves what promotion or training opportunities they want to pursue. Presumptions about what they might prefer or would be comfortable doing don’t belong in the workplace ...
A white environmental services attendant recently sued St. Vincent Carmel Hospital, claiming racial discrimination and retaliation. He was fired for violating the hospital’s anti-violence policy ...
Q. A former employee has brought a charge of racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. I employ 10 people. Will I have to defend this claim? ...
Employees have sometimes tried to apply a pair of Michigan criminal laws against employers that include arbitration agreements in employment applications. Now a federal court has declared that those criminal statutes don’t apply. You don’t need to fear that making an employee sign the application will subject you to criminal penalties or imprisonment ...
A federal jury has awarded a Tyson Foods supervisor $1 million, illustrating again that preventing racial discrimination is much cheaper than trying to litigate your way out of a preventable lawsuit. Take this opportunity to remind managers that what they say does matter.
Four white part-time firefighters have sued the village of Dolton for racial discrimination after the town’s fire department promoted two black firefighters to full-time positions over white candidates with better qualifications. The plaintiffs claim Dolton Fire Chief Jerry McCullough told them, “If you’re not black, you’re not getting hired.” ...
Sometimes, the best way to end a discrimination claim is to settle the case before it goes to court. But if you do settle, make sure you don’t create a bigger problem down the line. That can happen if the employee applies later for an open position and is rejected ...
Following 9/11, the EEOC paid particular attention to employment-discrimination backlash against employees who appeared to be Muslims or of Middle Eastern or South Asian ancestry. But now that effort appears to be broadening. Until recently, the EEOC didn't view job discrimination against Asian-Americans as a widespread problem. But a new survey changed all that ...
When employees sue you for discrimination, be sure to pull out their job applications and résumé for a second look. You may discover that they misrepresented their education or job history, which could sink their case ...
A former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) administrator recently won a four-year battle over alleged racial discrimination and retaliation charges against the agency and U.S. Justice Department. He won $85,000 in damages, plus legal fees ...
A federal judge has ruled that CBS was correct in requesting that an employee at its Pittsburgh KDKA-TV station return all the confidential information she gathered from her boss’s desk and computer ...
Glenville locomotive manufacturer Super Steel Inc. settled a lawsuit by black workers who alleged racial discrimination by employees and supervisors. The lawsuit sought $175 million but the settlement amount was not specified ...
CBS News sued a former administrative assistant at its KDKA-TV station in Pittsburgh for unlawfully recording phone calls, reading confidential e-mail and gathering private salary information. The company wants her to give the information back, including an “audio diary” she kept of phone calls for six months ...
HR Law 101: Under the law in most states, if there’s no employment contract, workers are employed on an “at-will” basis. That means employers have the right to fire employees at any time for any reason or no reason, and, conversely, employees have the right to leave the organization at any time ...
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: Over the years, the Supreme Court has developed a framework for testing whether an employer’s actions are evidence of discrimination or the result of legitimate business practices. The test (often referred to as the McDonald-Douglas burden-shifting test) has three parts that shift the burden of proof of wrongdoing back and forth between the plaintiff and the employer ...
HR Law 101: When independent contractors are acting as a company’s agents, the company is liable for their actions, according to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 ...
HR Law 101: In 2007, the EEOC introduced E-RACE, an initiative for “Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment.” The initiative’s goal: to eliminate recruiting and hiring practices that lead to discrimination by limiting an employer’s applicant pool. The EEOC noted that the makeup of an employer’s workforce is “highly dependent on how and where the employer looks for candidates.”
Don't allow discrimination to continue at your workplace simply because the "discriminator" and "discriminatee" are in the same racial minority. Just as supervisors over age 40 can be guilty of age ...
Issue: Establishing quantifiable criteria for making hiring decisions. Risk: Applicants have an easier time winning hiring-bias lawsuits if they can point to weaknesses in your stated reasons for hiring. ...
Employers "hire for fit" all the time. But sometimes, a fine line exists between basing decisions on job-related qualifications and the employer's "gut feelings" about the applicant. The problem: That gut ...
If your company has policies on job transfers or resignations (and it should), make sure they are clearly articulated and strictly followed by managers ...
Employees typically file race discrimination lawsuits under Title VII. But 20 percent of the work force is employed by companies that are exempt from the law because of their size ...
When a University of Arkansas dean position was advertised on campus and statewide, Howard Lockridge, an African-American department chairman, told his supervisors he wasn't planning to apply for the job. ...
Charles Sledge, an African-American builder at a tire manufacturing plant for 23 years, was repeatedly denied the chance to interview for a promotion to mechanic. In every case, the positions were ...
When dealing with the federal government, sometimes too much compliance can get you in trouble. What happened? When the Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission (EEOC) got a complaint about racial discrimination ...
Jackie Lauture, an African-American, was an at-will employee at IBM for 16 years before she was fired for poor performance. She sued for race discrimination ...
Most of my employees are hard workers who keep their priorities
straight. They don’t have time for distractions. They’re too busy
producing results, making money and having fun. But I’ve occasionally squared off against what I call “petty plotters.”
They’re the ones who find ways to avoid their work—from threatening to
sue the firm on trumped-up charges to stretching federal or state labor
laws to the limit.
Most of my employees are hard workers who keep their priorities
straight. They don’t have time for distractions. They’re too busy
producing results, making money and having fun.
