Employees you don’t hire can’t cause too much legal trouble, right? Wrong! In today’s tough economy, frustrated job-seekers are more likely than ever to sue. And if they sue for discrimination and win, courts are increasingly likely to award both back pay and lost future earnings ...
When promotion processes bypass qualified candidates, discrimination lawsuits are almost sure to follow. That’s because employees can easily poke holes in complex candidate-ranking systems, and supervisor bias emerges when promotions are on the line. If you have set criteria for promotions, make sure you follow your own rules.
Employees who discover their colleagues are making more money for doing the same work often conclude that there can be only one reason—discrimination. Next stop: an attorney, who will try to confirm the pay bias by comparing the employee’s paychecks with his co-workers'. That’s why you have to be proactive, consistently keeping good records that show why you’ve made every compensation decision.
If you tack the phrase “women and minorities are encouraged to apply” onto the end of a help-wanted ad, could that be construed as race or sex discrimination? In a carefully worded opinion letter, the EEOC has said “no.”
If you have a strict grooming policy or are considering implementing one, make sure you first understand what you can and cannot require employees to wear or what grooming standards you can legally enforce. Employees can and do sue when their employers try to impose rules that interfere with religious beliefs, reflect sexual stereotypes or are simply demeaning.
When co-workers involved in a romantic relationship break up, tensions can boil over in the workplace. And when an ugly situation creates a need for discipline, things get sticky for employers. Be wary of any discipline that targets just one of the former lovebirds. As the following case shows, doing so can lead to a sex discrimination lawsuit.
Before you fire any employee, double-check to make sure others who performed just as poorly or made similar mistakes were also terminated. Doing so may prevent a lawsuit … or, if you are sued, at least provide evidence that you treat everyone alike.
Your computer-usage policy no doubt prohibits visiting inappropriate web sites. But what if someone surfs forbidden sites using a computer that a group of employees has access to? In such cases, investigate but make sure to check out everyone’s story.
Sometimes, it’s best to just come clean. Even the best HR pros make mistakes when promoting or hiring employees. When that happens, and another employee sues, alleging that the hiring or promotion process was tainted by discrimination, it may be a good idea to admit that mistake to the court or the EEOC.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an opinion that may result in many more sex discrimination lawsuits at work. The case allowed an avowedly homosexual man to file a sex discrimination and harassment lawsuit based on his effeminate mannerisms—even as the court reiterated that sexual orientation isn’t covered by Title VII.
Here’s advice that bears repeating to everyone involved in hiring and firing: Never opine that you’d prefer someone of the opposite sex to do a job. Word will get around … and you’re sure to get sued.
Here’s a potential trap you may not have considered: Punishing a former employee may be retaliation, too. That means that you must carefully consider anything you do involving a former employee before you act.
Employees who discover their colleagues are making more money for doing the same work often conclude that there can be only one reason—discrimination. Next stop: the office of an attorney, who will try to confirm the pay bias by comparing the disgruntled employee’s protected class status to those earning more.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is accusing Norfolk Southern Railway of sex discrimination in a lawsuit filed recently in Maryland. The lawsuit says Norfolk Southern supervisors deprived a female employee of an opportunity for the training she would need to be promoted to a yardmaster.
Every employer’s goal should be to manage employees in a manner that’s blind to race, sex, age and disability. That doesn’t always happen. But it’s important to realize that it’s only when unfairness harms members of a protected class that the practice is illegal.
Pregnant women have many legal protections under Title VII’s sex discrimination provisions, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the FMLA. They rarely, however, qualify as disabled. That’s because normal pregnancies may create temporary difficulties, but they’re not severe enough to count as substantial limitations ...
Q. One of my employees has informed me that she is about to begin undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. She requested some intermittent time off from work. Am I required to grant her request?
Men can sexually harass men, and women can sexually harass women. The U.S. Supreme Court has outlined three ways an employee can prove that an incident of same-sex harassment is sex discrimination:
Have you checked your company’s bulletin boards lately? Do they show the correct, updated federal- and state-law posters? As this week’s new court ruling shows, poster mistakes can actually breathe new life into supposedly dead employment lawsuits …
Many employers have rules that prohibit off-duty conduct that may reflect negatively on the company. But even with such policies, it’s tricky to discipline employees for the things they do on their own time away from the workplace. In fact, you’re free to use discretion in deciding whether an employee should be warned, suspended or terminated.
Progressive discipline is a system in which penalties increase upon repeat occurrences. But don’t pick and choose which employees you run through progressive discipline. It’s critical to apply those procedures to all employees or none, as this new case shows ...
In a perfect world, no one would ever utter a slur or make a derogatory comment. But this isn’t a perfect world, and employees come to work with emotional and cultural baggage. It’s up HR to make sure that baggage doesn’t turn into a discrimination lawsuit.
You and the supervisors at your organization have read horror stories of negative performance reviewsspawning lawsuits from disgruntled employees. As a result, some supervisors may shy away from rating someone lower than his or her colleagues. That fear is one main reason too many reviews are positive even if performance is average or poor. The better thing to do is to urge your supervisors to “get real” with reviews.
It’s tough being an HR professional during the worst recession in memory. Every day, you have to make tough decisions about pay, hours, layoffs. At least there’s good news from one North Carolina court: HR pros aren’t personally liable under Title VII for any mistake they might make while carrying out their job responsibilities.
Your computer-usage policy no doubt prohibits visiting pornographic and other inappropriate sites. But what if someone surfs forbidden sites using a computer that an entire group of employees has access to? That makes it difficult to positively identify the guilty user. Your IT department can provide technical assistance so you can base your investigation and conclusions on facts.
Are some of your organization’s leaders still stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to attitudes about pregnancy, childbirth and child care? You might be a few off-base questions away from a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. Remind managers and supervisors to keep their opinions on mothers and motherhood to themselves.
Employees who are fired have little to lose and everything to gain by filing a discrimination lawsuit. That’s why you should be prepared to show exactly why you terminated an employee and how the punishment fit the crime—especially if others kept their jobs after similar violations.
Some fired employees, unable to move on, file multiple lawsuits against their former employers. If that happens to you, take heart. Courts are starting to drop these cases early. They’re even beginning to consider sanctions against employees’ attorneys.
If you haven’t recently reminded supervisors to keep anti-female comments to themselves, here’s a recent case
you can cite. Such comments will be viewed as direct evidence of discrimination. That practically guarantees a lawsuit if the employee is ever fired.
If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim.
Last year, U.S. employees filed a record number of legal complaints claiming they suffered discrimination at work. You know that U.S. anti-discrimination laws require managers to treat all applicants and employees equally. But what, specifically, do the laws require of supervisors and managers? Here’s a rundown:
If you punish two employees differently for what looks like the same rule violation or mistake, you’d better be prepared to explain why. If you are later challenged, you should be able to show that the two weren’t “similarly situated” and prove you didn’t favor one over the other.
Employers that want to make sure their termination decisions stick should carefully track each step of the underlying investigation. That’s the only way they can show a court they acted in a “reasonably informed and considered” way. Here’s how to document your investigation:
Most applicants who aren’t hired just go away. But sometimes they don’t—and then it’s time to watch out! A rejected applicant can play the discrimination card, possibly costing you an expensive jury award. That’s one good reason to check your hiring practices for hidden bias.
Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on sex, and sexual harassment is sex discrimination. That doesn’t mean, however, that every unwanted work relationship is sexual harassment. As a recent case shows, an obsessive interest, unrelated to sex, by one employee in another isn’t prohibited.
It’s time to check your policy on maternity leave. An Ohio appeals court has ruled that it may be discrimination if you don’t provide maternity leave to employees who don’t qualify for your usual leave plan because they haven’t been on the job long enough.
It’s fairly common for someone accused of sexual harassment to counter that, in reality, he was the one who was being harassed. Then he gives HR a detailed complaint and a lengthy list of people to interview. Don’t let this tactic dissuade you. Instead, complete your investigation just as you would any other.
If you haven’t looked carefully at how you determine compensation, here is another reason to do so soon. Employers that can show a court they set salaries based on logical, fair and unbiased factors are likely to win Equal Pay Act lawsuits. That’s because the EPA outlaws sex discrimination in pay, but allows employers to use factors other than sex to set pay rates.
Employees can sue for discrimination only if they can show they suffered an “adverse employment action.” In other words, they have to show that their employers somehow did something that affected their jobs—such as a demotion, discharge or pay cut. Merely criticizing an employee’s performance isn’t enough if it isn’t accompanied by something more substantial.
If you have ever been tempted to fire an alleged harasser just because you suspected the alleged victim might sue, consider this: The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that fear of being sued is no excuse for firing a suspected harasser without investigating.
Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on sex, and sexual harassment is sex discrimination. Essentially, the law protects employees from harassment because of sex—and that can include same-sex harassment. But at what point do friendships among co-workers run the risk of slipping into dangerous territory?
Terminating a pregnant employee because she has minor medical restrictions can be very expensive. The move may mean you have to make the employee financially whole—plus pay a large punitive damage award and attorneys’ fees. Here’s the best way to handle temporary medical restrictions associated with pregnancy:
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.
Courts understand that today’s economic climate is difficult. They aren’t likely to assume a company is restructuring or downsizing solely to “get” some employees. That’s especially true for employees lucky enough to be offered an alternate position—and then turn it down in order to sue.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to reconsider whether an enormous sex discrimination lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart will proceed as a class-action case.
Do you sometimes let employees bend company policy … just a little? It’s really no big deal, right? A new court ruling warns that if you start bending a policy for one, you’d better be ready to bend it for all. Being flexible can sometimes be fatal.
Last year, U.S. employees filed a record number of legal complaints claiming they suffered discrimination at work. You know that U.S. anti-discrimination laws require managers to treat all applicants and employees equally. But what, specifically, do the laws require of supervisors and managers? Here’s a rundown.
If you offer last-chance agreements instead of immediately firing employees, you can impose seemingly draconian measures without worrying about a lawsuit. If you later terminate an employee for violating agreement terms, most courts will take your side.
California State University Fresno has settled a suit brought by a female former volleyball coach who accused the school of sex discrimination. The settlement was reached 18 months after a California Superior Court jury returned a $5.85 million verdict in the favor of Lindy Vivas ...
If an employee is threatening litigation, try to find out whether others who belong to the same protected class might support her claims. If so, it may be time to settle.
It can happen to the best manager or HR professional. You discipline or demote an employee, and then, when she files an internal grievance or asks the company to reconsider, you conclude she shouldn’t have been disciplined or demoted in the first place. What should you do?
Think again if you believe you’re in the clear after a former employee misses a shot at filing a Title VII discrimination suit by waiting too long. Even if an employee waits more than 90 days to sue after the EEOC dismissed his case, that employee may have another bite at the apple—in the form of a North Carolina wrongful discharge lawsuit.
Sometimes, employees don’t have enough information to judge whether something they observe at work is discrimination—or a legitimate management action.
Probationary university professors whose contracts aren’t renewed because they failed to achieve tenure status can’t use tenure denial alone as the basis of a suit alleging damage to their reputations. They must show that the decision was actually motivated by something like race or sex discrimination.
Do you sometimes let employees bend company policy … just a little? It’s
really no big deal, right? A new court ruling warns that if you start
bending a policy for one, you’d better be ready to bend it for all.
Being flexible can sometimes be fatal.
The ongoing soap opera that is Philadelphia news broadcasting seems to be winding down. Former WCAU-TV news anchor Vince DeMentri has settled for an undisclosed sum for a sex discrimination complaint...
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.”
Maybe a long, long time ago, in a far, far away place, folks used to tell women, “Oh, you can’t do that … it’s a man’s job.” Maybe the work was too heavy, muddy or risky? But welcome to 2009, where jobs are no longer classified by gender. Better check to make sure your hiring managers understand that, too!
Q. Our company has just made a job offer to a highly qualified man to work in our company’s IT department. During the final stages of our interviewing process, the candidate told us that “she” is transgendered —that she would be transitioning from male to female. We believe employing a transgender employee could be very disruptive and cause a morale problem in the company. Can we rescind the offer based on the candidate’s transgender status?
Q. We have an employee who has a history of clashing with others at work. Her supervisors have addressed this with her many times. Recently, she sent an e-mail that was unprofessional and insulting to co-workers. If we fire her, could she successfully sue us for sex discrimination or harassment?
LA Weight Loss, which was renamed Pure Weight Loss in 2007, has settled a lawsuit filed against it by the EEOC. The agency had alleged a nationwide pattern and practice of sex discrimination at locations across the country ...
Employers may generally impose rules requiring employees to adhere to reasonable workplace appearance, grooming and dress standards. But as straightforward as the issue seems to be, grooming standards can create problems for employers.
A federal district court judge recently approved a $33 million settlement reached between Citigroup and female financial advisors in its Smith Barney unit.
When jurors hear that a company has a clear set of disciplinary rules but made an exception in the case of someone who just filed an EEOC or internal discrimination claim, they may jump to the conclusion retaliation occurred.
Recently, attorneys have been trying out a different tactic when employees have waited too long to file sexual harassment and other discrimination claims under either the federal Title VII or the Pennsylvania Human Rights Act. They’ve tried suing the employer under the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment. Now the Pennsylvania Superior Court has nixed that avenue ...
Although North Carolina is an at-will employment state—that is, employees can be fired for any reason or no reason at all as long as it is not a reason prohibited by law—that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. One of those is the so-called “public policy” exception, which allows employees to sue for wrongful discharge if their firings violate North Carolina public policy.
If you’ve never heard of “family-responsibility discrimination,” or FRD, you soon will. This subset of sex discrimination is a form of gender bias brought by employees who claim they were treated unfairly because they fulfilled caregiving roles for children or elderly parents ...
President Obama has put forth a significant employment and labor agenda. If he and the Democratic-controlled Congress succeed in passing proposed legislation, the next several years will see the creation of new protected classes, more family leave rights and the re-emergence of labor unions.
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 ...
An important—but often overlooked—step in performance appraisals is to ask employees to grade themselves. But don't just give them the same appraisal form used by supervisors. Instead, use a separate form that allows them to recap their achievements, identify shortcomings and initiate discussions regarding their development. A good self-evaluation form asks these three core questions ...
When an employee sues over an alleged discriminatory firing, courts typically make a beeline for one piece of evidence: the employee’s performance evaluation. The problem: Supervisors are notorious for giving overly kind evaluations, even to poor performers. That’s why it’s wise to get another opinion: the employee’s own ...
Maybe a long, long time ago, in a
far, far away place, folks used to tell women, “Oh, you can’t do that …
it’s a man’s job.” And for whatever reason, it was acceptable. Maybe
the work was too heavy, muddy or risky? But welcome to 2008, where jobs
are no longer classified by gender. Better check to make sure your
hiring managers understand that, too …
When employer labor budgets are stretched thin and raises are tough to come by, employees begin to see promotions as the only way to get a significant pay raise. It should come as no surprise then if litigation over missed opportunities and pay raises increases. Here’s what you can do to protect your organization from failure-to-promote lawsuits ...
Some jobs can be handled only by someone of a particular gender. For example, a dress model necessarily has to be female. Under the sex discrimination provisions of Title VII, employers may limit those jobs to members of one sex and refuse to hire members of the opposite sex under the so-called bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) exception. But the BFOQ is strictly limited ...
It may sound trivial, but employers in male-dominated industries should take note: Make sure your female employees have access to equal restroom facilities that meet women’s needs. Don’t expect women to adopt male restroom habits.
New York City employers, beware: The sky may be the limit for discrimination damage awards. Federal law limits punitive damage awards in Title VII discrimination lawsuits to no more than $300,000 for large employers. New York state law doesn’t allow them at all. But the New York City Administrative Code discrimination provisions allow juries to award unlimited punitive damages ...
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Lilly Ledbetter case in 2007, employers were thrilled. The court ruled that employees have to move fast after being denied a promotion or experiencing some other allegedly discriminatory act. Otherwise, they lose the right to sue for sex discrimination. But now, that tight deadline is beginning to slip as federal trial courts look for ways to give employees their day in court ...
Sometimes a supervisor targets the members of protected classes for poor treatment. But what looks like discrimination sometimes isn’t. Employers can learn the truth—and often protect themselves from liability—by holding off on discipline until after HR has conducted a thorough, independent investigation ...
Some religions prohibit men from cutting their hair. That can conflict with company grooming standards that set different limits on how long male and female employees may wear their hair. Generally, courts allow such differences ... Even so, a man whose religion says he cannot cut his hair may have a religious discrimination case.
Want to create an instant retaliation claim after an employee says she lost out on a promotion because of discrimination? Just let a supervisor or manager react angrily to the accusation. It’s dangerous for managers to make any negative comments in the wake of what an employee says was discrimination. Bosses must learn to hold their tongues ...
Raul Lopez Jr. is a biological male who presents himself as Izza Lopez, a female. When Lopez applied for a job at a medical clinic, he listed both his male and female names on the application. The company offered Lopez the job, but the HR director demanded to know his biological sex. Then the clinic rescinded the offer ...
Raul Lopez Jr. is a biological male who presents himself as Izza Lopez, a female. When Lopez applied for a job at a medical clinic, he listed both his male and female names on the application. The company offered Lopez the job, but the HR director demanded to know his biological sex. Then the clinic rescinded the offer, saying Lopez “misrepresented” himself in the interview ...
A woman who once earned millions each year as an oil trader for BP America has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the company. Alison Myers alleges BP gave a prime piece of business to a less experienced male trader and ultimately fired her when she complained ...
Some jobs obviously require that the employees who perform them be in excellent physical condition. For example, firefighters and others engaged in heavy physical work may have to be extremely physically fit. It’s legitimate for employers to test those physical abilities on a regular basis. Be careful, though, about how you administer those tests to men and women ...
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 ...
Joseph Bober, police chief for the New Jersey Transit Authority, is at the center of a five-lawsuit pile-up over everything from discrimination to punching an employee in the gut. Lt. Theresa Frizalone filed the first suit—charging sex discrimination—in March 2007 ...
New Jersey courts have long been in the forefront of employment discrimination law. The question is: How far will they go next? One likely path is to expand liability for sexual harassment committed by a nonemployee ...
Paula Casamento had worked for years in a variety of functions for Boston’s mass transit agency, but wanted to be promoted. When the agency posted a new supervisory position, she applied. A male employee had been performing most of the new job’s functions for several years ...
Federal workplace anti-discrimination laws don’t specifically extend protection to transgender people. However, 13 states plus several cities and counties have passed such laws. But even if your state or city doesn’t have such a law, you still could face liability for discriminating against transgender people ...
Memories fade and employees come and go. That’s why it’s crucial for HR to keep certain records for future reference. Among these records are organizational charts showing who had supervisory and other authority over other employees. Why? Lawsuits over lost promotions or firings can take years before they actually go to trial ...
If you plan to terminate employees who work for you under contract, plan to document exactly when you tell them their contracts won’t be renewed. Here’s why: Employees have only a short time to file discrimination claims. If they miss the deadline, they lose the right to sue ...
Asking your administrative assistant to fetch you coffee may be
old-school, but is it sex discrimination? In a recent case, a female
employee got in such a froth about her bosses’ demands for coffee that
she said, “Get your own coffee and see you in court!” ...
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Nothing wins lawsuits like good records. Tell all managers and supervisors that HR won’t approve any disciplinary action without a copy of the documentation used to justify the decision ...
In a case that illustrates just how sensitive some employees are to perceived sexual stereotypes, a woman hired to work as a receptionist tried to claim that refusing to serve her male bosses coffee was tantamount to engaging in protected activity. Then she alleged retaliation ...
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 ...
Maybe she was a bit of a drip, but one employee got in such a froth about her bosses' demands for coffee service that she sued. Did she really have grounds to bring a harassment and retaliation lawsuit? Did her employer wind up in hot water?
It doesn’t take much for a sex discrimination complaint to turn into a trial. Sometimes all it takes to start a Title VII sex discrimination and Equal Pay Act lawsuit is hiring a woman to fill a position that had been previously held by men who made more money ...
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 ...
Nothing builds a circumstantial sex discrimination case like needless pregnancy and parenthood comments. Explain to all managers and supervisors that their subordinates’ childbearing plans are absolutely none of their business ...
Employers in male-dominated industries, take note: Make sure new female hires who work in a largely male environment have access to restroom facilities that meet women’s needs. Don’t expect women to adopt male restroom habits ...
While a zero-tolerance policy for fighting on the job is a good idea, it may not always be necessary. Instead, you can draw a distinction between violent transgressions and mere arguments that escalate into pushing or shoving. You also may want the discretion to punish workers in some categories more harshly than others ...
Managers of the Razzoo’s Cajun Café chain of 11 restaurants in Texas and North Carolina thought they had hit on a surefire way to build bar business: Make sure 80% of their bartenders were women. One factor they failed to consider: The EEOC takes a dim view of such hiring quotas ...
Have many of your recent promotions gone to members of one sex or some other protected category? If so, take some time now to figure out how that happened. It’s entirely possible that what at first looks like a suspicious “coincidence” that could be misconstrued as discrimination is actually completely innocent ...
It isn’t unusual for fathers to have extensive child care responsibilities. Make sure your policies recognize that fact. Don’t succumb to stereotypical thinking. For example, if you waive some work requirements so mothers can pick up their kids from day care, give fathers the same flexibility ...
Employers may think last year’s U.S. Supreme Court Ledbetter decision means employees can’t wait years before complaining about sex discrimination if the issue is pay. Surprise! It’s not always true ...
The Equal Pay Act was passed to ensure that women are paid the same as men for substantially equal work. The law does allow for differences based on any factor “other than sex,” but you must be prepared to explain pay differentials in a way that clearly demonstrates why two employees in the same job receive different wages ...
The easiest way for an employee to win a discrimination lawsuit is to complain about discrimination and then sit back and wait for a supervisor or manager to retaliate. That’s why it’s so important for HR to keep track of discrimination complaints and disciplinary actions ...
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 ...
A class of more than 2,500 female former brokers, who sued financial services giant Smith Barney for sex discrimination, will receive a $33 million settlement ...
Employees who quit generally can’t sue for discrimination—unless they can show that they were essentially forced out because conditions were intolerable. But don’t think simply accepting an employee’s resignation note lets the company entirely off the hook ...
You know it’s illegal to retaliate against an employee who has engaged in so-called “protected activity,” such as filing a discrimination complaint internally or with the EEOC. Now, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Ohio employers, has taken the concept one step further ...
In 2000, Jeffrey Paich was hired to manage the Nike Factory Store in Mercer. A year later, Debra Sweda became Paich’s supervisor. Over the next four years, Sweda was inundated with complaints about Paich’s temper and his treatment of women ...
Do you have to treat transgendered job applicants differently? Which
box, if any, do you check on the application—male or female? And what
special laws must you know about?
In what may be a sign of growing equality, more men are complaining about sexual harassment by their female co-workers and supervisors. Although female harassers may still be in the minority, that’s no reason to dismiss claims that men make ...
Some jobs are still dominated by either men or women, and those employees may not welcome with open arms the first member of the opposite sex. Before dumping the new employee into the workplace, make sure you do everything you can to ensure equal treatment in all important aspects of the job. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a lawsuit over unequal treatment ...
Have you taken a good look at who fills supervisory roles at your workplace? If not, you should. Having very few female supervisors may spell trouble. Having none is like carrying a sign that reads, “Sue me now!” Employees suing for sex discrimination could point to the lack of female supervisors as evidence supporting their claims ...
Lawsuits sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. While you can reduce your risk through prevention, you can’t eliminate it entirely. That’s why you need a backup strategy. For failure-to-promote lawsuits, that strategy should involve being ready to explain each and every promotion decision with solid business reasons ...
Whether dealing with clients or co-workers, an abrasive, rude and arrogant employee can spell big trouble. The problem, of course, is measuring something as subjective as likeability or abrasiveness. One possible way: Use a peer-review process to gather relevant information and a consensus on how well employees get along with others ...
If, like many companies, you have a policy that encourages promotion from within, you may hesitate to look outside for additional candidates. Fear of a lawsuit might make you especially reluctant if one of the few internal candidates belongs to a protected class. As the following case shows, those fears are unfounded ...
Imagine how awkward it would be to have an employee sue her employer and then stay on the job. There’s a real danger that the worker will become supersensitive to workplace slights. She may think every comment is meant to punish her for the lawsuit—and that every thwarted promotion request is direct retaliation ...
The quickest way for an employer to get into big trouble is to retaliate against an employee who files a discrimination charge. Any negative employment action after the charge is filed may mean an additional lawsuit. Instruct managers to document any alleged poor performance—and make sure they use only objective, concrete measures ...
Good news for employers with strong anti-nepotism policies: The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a claim based on alleged familial status discrimination. The court ruled that Title VII does not protect family members from an employer’s decision not to hire a relative when company rules bar nepotism ...
Part-time employees are often the first to get pink slips in an economic downturn. But watch out if your part-timers are disproportionately parents who have child care responsibilities. Don’t be surprised if those employees respond to a layoff by contacting an attorney ...
Recruiting foreign workers who come to the United States via work visa programs requires carefully adhering to Title VII and other discrimination laws, just as if you were recruiting U.S. workers. Make sure you (or your representative) aren’t pushing foreign workers into different visa programs based on sex or some other protected characteristic ...
Nothing will get an organization in hot water faster than ignoring legal paperwork. Missed deadlines may mean a default judgment, with the tardy employer missing any chance to defend itself in court. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to have a clear process for handling any incoming legal documents ...
Lots of employers insist their employees sign agreements mandating arbitration to resolve employment law disputes. Conventional wisdom suggests that such alternative dispute resolution is less costly, less time-consuming and less risky than a jury trial. But conventional wisdom may be wrong ...
Q. Our company is trying to reduce our medical insurance costs. I have been asked whether we could eliminate coverage for contraceptives. If we provide health care that includes a prescription drug benefit, are we required to provide coverage for contraceptives? ...
Q. My understanding is that an employee must file a charge of sex discrimination with the EEOC or the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) within 180 days. I have been told by the EEOC that it will investigate charges filed within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act. Which is correct? ...
Setting compensation for a highly skilled job applicant may mean having to offer more money than currently paid to employees performing the same type of job. But what if a current employee sues, alleging the pay disparity constitutes some form of discrimination? Can you avoid liability? ...
Sometimes, despite uncertainty about whether or not discrimination has occurred, you still may have to fire an employee. But what if you turn out to be wrong? Will that mean a huge punitive damages award? Not if you can show that before the decision was made, you consulted an attorney. That’s right: Calling in the lawyers is the best insurance—if you do it right ...
When an employee sues for an alleged discriminatory firing, the court will want to see the employee’s evaluation. A sterling evaluation and high praise quickly cast doubt on a termination supposedly based on poor performance. How, then, can you encourage honest evaluations?Have employees identify their own weaknesses and address those in their performance evaluations ...
Courts generally bend over backward to make sure employees get their day in court. Employers can’t count on courts to toss out vague complaints. That’s why it pays to take every EEOC complaint seriously. As soon as you get wind of a complaint, contact your attorneys right away ...
Not every organization has a formal program for handling internal promotions. Some rely strictly on supervisor recommendations and employees’ expressions of interest to identify candidates. That can lead to big trouble if supervisors can’t later articulate who wanted a promotion and why they recommended (or declined to recommend) an employee for a new job ...
You will probably never be able to eliminate the downside risks of sexual relationships at work, no matter how many policies you draft. So what should HR do to prevent turmoil once a relationship has ended? Generally, the best policy is to leave well enough alone ...
Here’s one less thing you have to worry about if an employee files a New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) lawsuit against your organization: That employee’s spouse can’t hitch a ride on the lawsuit express ...
Memories fade and employees come and go. That’s why it’s
crucial to retain certain records for future reference. Among the
records you should keep forever are past organizational charts that
show who had supervisory authority over other employees ...
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 ...
The law protects employees from retaliation for complaining about alleged job discrimination. That doesn’t mean, however, that employees have to state specifically that their concerns involve sex, race or some other protected characteristic. Something as simple as complaining about “the glass ceiling” may be enough to at least raise the specter of sex discrimination ...
In Michigan’s current tough economy, many laid off or fired workers are filing for bankruptcy. But that doesn’t mean former employees have given up on filing employment-related lawsuits. But these tight times have given employers an additional tool for finding out what they’re up against if they are sued ...
If someone sues you because she didn’t get hired or promoted, the hiring manager better be able to explain the selection criteria. Many can’t. That’s why it’s crucial for HR to oversee hiring and promotion processes and make absolutely certain you can document how the decision was made ...
Here’s a trap you should be aware of: An applicant who sues when he isn’t hired often keeps on applying—and then turns around and claims that you “blacklisted” him in retaliation for the lawsuit. Here’s how you should respond ...
You can use stable employment history as a legitimate selection criterion in hiring—if you do it right. The key is to allow employees to explain interruptions in their employment histories, ignoring those that could lead to a discrimination lawsuit ...
When conducting internal investigations into alleged wrongdoings, make sure you don’t treat employees who belong to a protected class (e.g., age, sex, race or disability) differently than others who may have misbehaved. As the following case shows, discharging one person based on an emotional reaction during an interview and keeping another who kept his cool under questioning may lead to a discrimination lawsuit ...
You can’t legislate good taste. But that shouldn’t stop you from having and enforcing dress and grooming rules. How you enforce those rules, however, can make the difference between needless litigation and a productive workplace. Don’t joke around about an employee’s dress or style. Instead, call the person into a meeting and discuss the problem in private ...
Virginia Schurmeier, an operations analyst for a food wholesale company, was fired for alleged poor performance. She sued, claiming the real reason was sex discrimination. Her proof: A male co-worker who had worse performance appraisals than she had wasn't fired ...
Here’s a trap that may catch you unaware unless you regularly compare jobs and who actually holds the positions. If two jobs are roughly comparable, but mostly women hold one of the jobs and mostly men hold the other and you pay one more than the other, you are asking for trouble ...
The only thing between your organization and a discriminatory discharge verdict is the HR office. An impartial and cool-headed HR professional must oversee the process every time an employee is terminated. Keep careful track of exactly how the decision-making process moves forward in every case, and insist that HR have the final word on termination ...
After using up their available 12 weeks’ unpaid FMLA leave, many new mothers request additional time off. If you agree to additional time off to be covered by a short-term disability policy, check to see if that policy includes job protection. If it doesn’t, you don’t have to hold her job or even reinstate her. Don’t, however, start the search for her replacement while the employee is still on FMLA leave ...
A Mexican woman has been granted permission to serve as the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against a company that recruits and places temporary agricultural workers on farms and other agricultural operations in North Carolina and other states. The woman claims that International Labor Management Corporation purposely placed women in less lucrative temporary visa programs than men ...
A workplace affair can wreak havoc if the couple breaks up—especially if one is a supervisor. There may be a sexual harassment claim lurking in the affair. But that’s not the only problem. Sometimes an office affair can create an uncomfortable situation for other employees ...
Does your company have a written progressive disciplinary process?
If so, do your managers and supervisors always follow it fairly and
consistently? One slip-up, as a new case shows, can smash your company
in court ...
You’ll never be able to completely eliminate romantic involvement between co-workers, but you can and should take steps to ensure peaceful coexistence in the workplace once a relationship ends. Just make sure you enforce the rules evenhandedly against both males and females ...
If you thought last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Ledbetter case made it clear that employees must file EEOC complaints within 300 days of suffering a discriminatory pay decision, think again. That deadline applies only to sex discrimination cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ...
It may be a busy, hectic and crazy workplace, but that doesn’t excuse supervisors and managers from providing updated and accurate job descriptions and documenting job performances. Workplaces that neglect those essential duties face huge lawsuit risks ...
Although there is no blanket rule against transferring someone who has been involved in a romantic relationship with a co-worker, make sure the transfer benefits the transferred party and can’t be viewed as punishment. Otherwise, the transferred employee may claim retaliation ...
Employers are generally free to transfer employees where their skills can be best utilized. Of course, some employees resist such moves, especially if these actions are perceived as undesirable transfers or even demotions. That’s why, for every transfer, you should make a clear assessment of who has what skills and talents ...
Good news for employers: Workers who claim they have been retaliated against for whistle-blowing under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) have to show more than generalized displeasure with their organizations’ actions. Mere harassment isn’t enough—the employer has to take concrete action such as firing, demoting or denying promotions ...
Your organization’s employee handbook exists for a reason. It serves as a simple and effective way to let employees know what the rules are and what you expect in the way of behavior. If you can show that employees received copies of the handbook and were expected to be familiar with its contents, you have a good shot at defeating any discriminatory discharge claims if you disciplined according to the rules set out in the handbook ...
A federal judge has approved a settlement by Wall Street financial services firm Morgan Stanley to end a sex discrimination suit. A class of 3,000 current and former female employees of the firm will share $46 million ...
Employees who must stop working at a certain point in their pregnancies because a union agreement compels the leave are not entitled to unemployment compensation in Ohio. That’s true even if the pregnant employee could physically work and would have done so if it were an option ...
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Ledbetter case in the spring of 2007, employers breathed a collective sigh of relief. It appeared that employees whose current paychecks were smaller because of sex discrimination years ago were barred from suing and instead would have had to file their lawsuits within months of the original discriminatory pay decision. Now it turns out that Ledbetter may not be as simple a decision as it first appeared ...
Employees who lose their jobs often look for sinister underlying reasons—such as discrimination. That’s why you should think about a strategy to minimize the chance a disgruntled employee will win a discrimination lawsuit. Here’s one way: Fill the vacant position with someone from the same protected class as the terminated employee ...
We’ve all dealt with employees who constantly make petty complaints about others. We’d rather just ignore the litany, but that’s probably not the best course of action. Buried beneath the nonsensical complaints may be a genuine one—one that requires prompt action. As the following case shows, acting right away when a legitimate gripe surfaces can mean the difference between a lawsuit and the same case being dismissed before it ever gets to trial ...
In May 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Inc., a case that limits the potential liability of employers in wage discrimination claims brought under Title VII. Although New Jersey state courts often look to federal decisions for guidance, it is uncertain how Ledbetter will be applied in a state court action involving the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ...
The EEOC has issued new enforcement guidance concerning disparate treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities—or “family-responsibility discrimination.” The guidelines are designed to help determine whether a particular employment decision is discriminatory. Family-responsibility discrimination is not a new type of discrimination, but rather an application of the existing discrimination laws to a situation that is drawing increasing attention ...
Employers can’t retaliate against employees for filing discrimination claims. But that doesn’t mean you have to treat such employees with kid gloves. Just tell managers and supervisors to apply the “smell test” to any proposed change to the complaining employee’s work assignments ...
Employers nationwide breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employees must promptly bring discrimination claims. But the decision in the Ledbetter case isn’t as simple as press coverage may have suggested. In fact, any move a supervisor makes that could be interpreted as retaliation for the earlier, expired claim may be seen as retaliation for earlier complaints ...
When it comes to discipline, equal is better. Don’t treat one employee more harshly than you would another, but don’t shy away from punishing employees who deserve it either. The key is to track complaints and punishments so you can easily show that race, age, sex or some other protected characteristic had no influence on your disciplinary decisions ...
Can employees sue for a company practice that was perfectly lawful when it was implemented but has since become illegal? Yes, according to a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case in which employees complained that a company policy didn’t give them full-service credit toward their retirement benefits during their pregnancy leave ...
Q. We provide short-term disability leave to new mothers. Is there any reason we can’t run that leave concurrent with FMLA leave? —S.B., Washington ...
Parents vs. nonparents. Gen Y vs. Gen X and the baby boomers. In some workplaces, there’s growing tension over benefits inequality. HR better listen if employees complain that they're getting worse benefits than their co-workers. One solution: Paid time off banks can help calm discontent.
Q. We are a relatively small company, and it has come to our attention that two of our single employees have become romantically involved. One of the employees is in management. We have no policy addressing employee fraternization (if that is the correct term), and we wonder whether we can, or should, do something about it. Ideas? ...
Check patronizing attitudes—and comments—at the workplace door. Protective attitudes have no place at work and even a comment or two may spur on a sex-discrimination lawsuit. That’s why HR must tell managers and supervisors: Lay off the “I know what’s good for the delicate sex” comments. They are direct evidence of sex discrimination and a sure way to court ...
When it comes to sexual harassment under Ohio’s sex discrimination laws, a few days is all it takes to create a hostile work environment. Even if the harasser stops—instead turning critical and cold—the harassed employee may quit shortly after. Courts then will view the resignation as the effective equivalent of being fired in retaliation ...
A California Superior Court jury recently awarded a city firefighter $6.2 million in a lawsuit claiming race discrimination, sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ...
The EEOC recently issued enforcement guidance declaring that disparate treatment of employees who care for children, parents or other family members violates federal law. “Disparate treatment” generally means an employer intentionally treated employees differently because of a protected factor such as race, gender, age or—in this case—their need to care for family members ...
Don’t fire an employee for cross-dressing or allow co-workers to harass a female worker who acts masculine until you understand your potential liability under the increasing number of “gender-identity discrimination” laws. Such laws typically prevent discrimination against workers or applicants because they don’t conform to the stereotypes of how a man or woman looks, lives or acts ...
The course of true love, at least in the workplace, runs straight to the courtroom. But Floor Covering Associates of Joliet received a reprieve recently when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court verdict in its favor ...
Pregnant Texas employees are protected from discrimination under the Texas Commission of Human Rights Act (TCHRA). The TCHRA prohibits sex discrimination and makes it an “unlawful employment practice if because of … sex … the employer discharges an individual.” It also defines sex discrimination to include “discrimination because of or on the basis of pregnancy.” ...
Employees seeking relief from on-the-job discrimination on the basis of their race, sex, age, national origin or religion can typically pursue their claims under federal law, Ohio law (Ohio Revised Code Section 4112.02) or both. In most cases, it doesn’t matter whether the employee sues under state or federal law—the court will apply the same cases and reasoning. The same is not true in pregnancy discrimination cases. That’s because the Ohio Civil Rights Commission interprets pregnancy discrimination quite differently than does its federal counterpart, the EEOC ...
You may think the only types of discrimination you have to worry about are those specified in Title VII, other federal laws and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. You would be wrong ...
Six months after a state investigation revealed an “oppressive culture” of intolerance and bullying toward women and blacks in the Law Enforcement Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the agency is still reviewing the report, and other employees have stepped forward to reinforce its findings ...
The EEOC just issued guidelines stating that one’s status as a family member can’t be considered in employment decisions. The agency says the guidelines address “family-responsibility discrimination.” They draw on earlier theories about so-called “gender-plus” discrimination ...
A surprising new court ruling says that if your organization uses a common pay practice—setting new hires' salaries based on their past pay—you could be violating the Equal Pay Act ...
While at-will employment is the standard in Pennsylvania, the right to fire an employee with or without cause is not absolute. Your organization can be sued under state law if former employees can show that they were fired in retaliation for exercising a right protected by Pennsylvania law ...
Some new mothers returning to work after giving birth request time off during the workday to express and store breast milk. Some states have passed specific laws protecting nursing women from harassment and discrimination ...
Have a no-dating policy at your workplace? If the answer is “no,” it may be time to consider one. While some office romances may seem innocent enough, trouble can follow an ugly breakup between co-workers. That’s why it pays to have clear rules in place ...
Have you offered a well-qualified applicant a lower-ranking position than her experience indicates she’s qualified to perform? If so, better make sure there’s no sex disparity in your hiring patterns ...
Employees who realize their jobs are in peril sometimes think pulling out the “lawsuit card” will save them. They’ll meet with an attorney, who will try to head you off with a threatened lawsuit. It sometimes succeeds because it casts the potential discharge in a sinister new light—as retaliation for threatening to sue. Here’s how to counter it and still carry through with your planned action ...
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a Grand Rapids police officer who was suspended as “unfit for duty” after she filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the city of Grand Rapids. Now here’s the rest of the story ...
A state judge who allegedly rants about “devil’s weed” and “Satan’s surge” while attaching biblical verses to legal opinions is being sued after he axed a deputy court administrator’s position in his office ...
Can a supervisor be sued personally for alleged acts of discrimination in Michigan? Based on a January decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals, the answer is yes ...
You may think that your organization is immune from a sex discrimination lawsuit if you hire a female employee to replace a fired female. But such "free passes" don't automatically exist ... and your supervisors should know it ...
When hiring people who need to possess certain licenses, make sure you do more than just check that the applicant holds the license. Your application process should include a background check into any violations that could lead to a license revocation ...
One wrong move (especially during the firing process) can send employees running for courthouse. Teach supervisors to avoid unnecessarily angering employees by pointing out the following common mistakes ...
If you’ve never heard of “family-responsibility discrimination,” or FRD, you soon will. The EEOC has issued new guidance to help employers understand how federal anti-bias laws apply to workers with caregiving duties. The result: Expect more awareness (and lawsuits) from employees , plus more enforcement from the EEOC and state anti-bias agencies.
Process every employee complaint without commenting on its merits or on the potential consequences of making the complaint. Remind managers to do the same. Never make snide comments ...
The mantra in real estate is “location, location, location.” But the mantra in employee discipline must always be “consistency, consistency, consistency” ...
If you're a religious organization, don't be intimidated by employees invoking anti-discrimination laws as a way to protest your legitimate religious mission. When it comes to how you manage religious staff, government must keep its hands off ...
Don't assume that only minorities have a right to sue you for workplace race discrimination. White employees also are entitled to work in an environment free of racial bias, and they can challenge hiring practices that interfere with that right ...
When hiring, you probably use the job description to establish the minimum requirements for the position. But what if no one in the applicant pool meets those minimum requirements? ...
Not all New Jersey employers have to worry about complying with state anti-discrimination laws. Specifically, federal employers in the state aren’t subject to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Reason? The federal anti-bias laws (Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act) are the sole remedies for federal employees ...
If your organization is a religious institution, you may not have adopted anti-discrimination policies or practices because you think you can rely on the “ministerial exception.” But, as a new case shows, that may not always be the case ...
A temporary suspension without pay is a one-time event, and employees can’t use it as the basis of a lawsuit years later. Those who allege such a pay loss must file a complaint promptly; they can’t argue that later consequences open the door to a lawsuit again ...
Employee benefits involve more than just health care and life insurance. Less-noticeable perks—like prime office locations and trips to out-of-town conferences—can also count, and they can become the grounds for discrimination …
A New York jury has awarded the former editor-in-chief of The Source, a hip-hop magazine, $15.5 million in damages from her sex discrimination lawsuit ...
The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit against Barbizon School of Modeling of Atlanta for firing a director five days after she gave birth. The former director, who worked at its Macon location, claims Barbizon terminated her because of her pregnancy ...
To support sex discrimination lawsuits, employees must do more than claim their supervisor had a “sexist attitude.” Without more proof of job-related impact, complaints about supervisors with attitude aren’t enough direct evidence ...
Before allowing employees to work from home or another remote location, consider the risk of making your organization liable under anti-discrimination laws in the state or city where that telecommuter lives ...
When it comes to internal promotions, you’re on the safest legal ground if you set clear procedures. That way, employees who don’t land coveted promotions can’t claim the reason was discrimination ...
HR Law 101: Sex discrimination and sexual harassment are illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The law requires that employers treat male and female workers equally in all terms and conditions of employment ...
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 ...
The mantra in real estate is "location, location, location." But the mantra in employee discipline must always be "consistency, consistency, consistency" ...
You know the workplace should be free of racially or sexually charged comments and that supervisors most certainly shouldn't engage in such banter. But you can't wipe prejudice out of every employee's mind ...
Because of a quirk in Pennsylvania law, employers may soon see an uptick in state-based employment lawsuits. Reason: A federal court clarified that all state employment claims must be filed within the appropriate state statute of limitations (one year, for example, on defamation cases). Employees can't wait to file a state claim until the EEOC or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission completes its investigation, the court said ...
While many employees view a transfer to a different location as a positive career move, others don't see it that way. Some employees may assume discrimination in what your organization thinks of as normal career development ...
You may think it's obvious, but it has taken a federal appeals court to make clear that employees have no federal right to competent employment-law counsel, as offered in criminal cases. Employees who pick incompetent attorneys don't get a second chance to sue. That's good news for employers, who won't have to face the same lawsuit again if an employee's less-than-stellar lawyer bumbles the case ...
While Title VII makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, age or disability, no federal law explicitly says that you can't fire someone just because the person is gay ...
If your organization hits a busy time and needs employees to work long hours, don’t hesitate to require everyone to pitch in. Federal rules allow you to require nonexempt employees to work overtime, so long as you pay them time-and-a-half for hours worked above 40 in a week ...
Frivolous lawsuits will forever be a thorn in the side of HR. But, according to a new report, employees are becoming more successful in job discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC ...
Issue: Employers often set new hires' wages, in part, based on salaries at previous jobs. Risk: A new court ruling says you could run afoul of the Equal Pay Act ...
If your organization is hit with an employee lawsuit, consider having your attorney check for a bankruptcy filing by the employee who sues you. If the lawsuit isn't listed as an asset with ...
Don't make different bathroom-break rules for the different sexes. Case in point: A manufacturer's new factory had only one restroom, which was designed for men. Female employees could use that restroom ...
Courts usually allow you to set grooming policies or appearance standards, particularly for employees who deal directly with customers. Just make sure you apply your rules evenhandedly across your work force. ...
Issue: Most organizations lack formal elder care benefits or policies. Instead, they assist employees by making exceptions to other policies. Risk: Unless you apply those exceptions fairly, you'll risk complaints ...
Issue: Whether a marketing strategy can, or should, dictate your organization's hiring practice. Risk: Any hiring strategy that appears to discriminate against a protected class is fair game for EEOC ...
THE LAW. While no federal law re-quires your organization to write job descriptions for each employee, it's a wise legal move that most employers follow. When drafting job descriptions ...
Issue: How to handle harassing behavior by your organization's top dogs. Risk: Going easy on them will come back to haunt you; courts hold higher-ups to a higher standard than ...
It's easy to tell a mail clerk to knock off his harassing comments, but try telling the same thing to your CEO or other top dog. The truth is, though, that ...
Can employees sue your organization for failing to promote them to jobs they never even applied for? It seems crazy, but it could be true. Courts are increasingly opening a backdoor ...
Now would be a good time to review your organization's hiring, firing, promotion and pay policies for any hint of gender-based differences. Reason: The big Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit that hit ...
A school district hired a man rather than Geraldine Fuhr as varsity boys head basketball coach. While the man had two years of experience, Fuhr had been the varsity girls head ...
Be very leery about setting rules that ban one gender or another from certain positions. Such a policy may be legal if you can prove that gender is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for a position. But courts will likely be skeptical if the job can be done by both sexes without violating any laws or with an easy accommodation.
Glass-ceiling lawsuits, in which women or minorities claim they're prevented advancement beyond a certain point, are tough to prove, but not impossible. If an employee can show a pattern of discrimination, ...
Even if your state or local laws protect employees based on their "marital status" or "family responsibilities," that doesn't mean parent/employees can create their own schedule. You can still ...
A hospital fired an ER doctor for violating its gender-specific dress code. The doctor had continued to wear nail polish, cosmetics and "visible female undergarments" after being warned that his appearance ...
Issue: Some employers want to create male-only or female-only positions, often for privacy reasons. Risk: You risk a discrimination lawsuit if this policy doesn't have a sound business reason ...
Issue: Even one offhand remark, if timed just right, can spell "discrimination." Risk: Years of diligence in preventing discrimination among managers can go up in smoke instantly. Action: Advise ...
Typically, employees need to show some pattern of discriminatory comments or behavior to carry a sex discrimination charge in court. But, as the following case proves, one stray remark that occurs ...
If employees' on-site amorous actions are making you or their co-workers uncomfortable, don't be afraid to tell the lovebirds to withhold their romance for more private, off-premise moments. Courts will likely ...
A female worker with blonde hair sued her employer, claiming that her boss's comments about her tresses were sexist and sexual. A district court ruled that the comments, ...
Issue: Courts won't consider a manager "insubordinate" for ignoring a boss's order if the manager believes the order is discriminatory. Risk: Increases danger of retaliation ...
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 ...
Expect a bumper crop of eager interns this summer, thanks in part to the still-struggling economy. While internships can be a win/win situation for employers and students, ...
The press secretary for Chicago's Catholic bishop sued her employer, charging sex discrimination in violation of Title VII. But the court said she served a ...
A manufacturing firm's new plant had only one restroom, which was designed for men. Female workers were told they had to use that restroom during work hours, ...
You'd think that 12 jurors wouldn't look kindly on an armed robber's claim that job discrimination drove him to rob a convenience store with a sawed-off shotgun. But you would ...
Courtney Melanson suffered two years of unwanted sexual advances by her supervisor at Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI). She took medical leave due to the stress and, when she returned, BFI assigned her ...
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 ...
If an employee files a discrimination charge against you with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), don't expect the case to hang in limbo. Reason: The EEOC is processing new discrimination ...
Two recent rulings illustrate how more workers are seeking, and winning, class-action status in charges of companywide discrimination. Case 1. In December, a federal court in Illinois paved the way ...
Two pivotal Supreme Court decisions in 1998 gave employers a powerful new weapon to defend themselves when sued because of harassment by a supervisor. But recent rulings in a handful of ...
Even if you draft airtight employment policies and provide expert training, your company could still end up among the increasing number of businesses facing ...
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 ...
The male workers at an Azteca restaurant constantly mocked Antonio Sanchez for his effeminate ways. They swore at him and referred to the waiter as "she" and "her." Sanchez finally ...
If you're thinking about extending benefits to employees' domestic partners, be prepared to defend any limits. When the Chicago school board decided to extend spousal health benefits to domestic partners ...
There's no sense in becoming a pack rat if you don't need to. While the legal requirements to retain records are complex, you're probably safe in dumping those 1984 vacation-day requests. ...
The teachers and students in the classroom where Mary Jefferson was a part-time aide regularly used derogatory terms for females, such as bitch, slut and whore. As a result, Jefferson filed ...
Frank's boss asked him to quit wearing his earring to work. Frank refused, arguing that women in the office were allowed to wear earrings. He was fired and then sued for ...
When a medical supply company reorganized its sales force, it rated existing employees on a "matrix" of skills. Although Deborah Goosby had won several sales awards, she was put in ...
Q During a recent exit interview, an employee told us that she had been sexually harassed on the job. But she claimed that she was leaving the company for a better job, not because of the alleged harassment. What should we do with her complaint? Do we have an obligation to investigate this claim even though she is leaving? L.C., Louisiana
After a financially strapped hospital turned over its collection and registration duties to an outside vendor, four female workers over age 40 lost ...
Vendors, customers and employees had complained about Jane Sturdivan, a 59-year-old office manager. But her fate was sealed when a 24-year-old office accountant ...
