It’s easy to feel paralyzed when it’s time to choose an employee to promote. You need to pick the best candidate for the promotion, but you also don’t want to risk a discrimination lawsuit. The truth is, if your choice is reasonable, a court probably won’t second-guess it ...

Even if an employer has a good history of avoiding age discrimination in hiring, it can be sued for age discrimination if a reduction in force disproportionately affects older workers. Generally good hiring practices don’t prove that no discrimination occurred when drawing up the RIF list ...

Employees who have been fired or otherwise lose their jobs frequently encounter financial problems and end up in bankruptcy court. If the employee doesn’t list a pending EEOC or lawsuit claim against his former employer, the bankruptcy court may miss important assets and discharge the debts ...

State and federal laws protect employees who file discrimination complaints from retaliation for making those complaints. That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure you carefully document any disciplinary moves that occur after an employee has complained of discrimination ...

A group of black construction workers filed a race discrimination and retaliation claim with the EEOC. They complained of racist graffiti, demeaning language and their tools being stolen. The employer tried to shrug it off, basically arguing that construction sites are by nature crude and mean-spirited workplaces ...

Coca-Cola fired Dudley Thompson, who is black and from Jamaica, for not following company protocol when he went on vacation to the island—he failed to put his vacation request in writing and arrange for shift coverage ...

The EEOC has filed suit against California-based fruit smoothie retailer Jamba Juice, alleging the company allowed one of its managers to sexually harass several female employees. The EEOC says the company disciplined the manager, but then promoted him two months later ... 

You know it’s illegal under Title VII to discriminate against employees based on their race, sex, age and other protected characteristics. But a smattering of new court cases seem to expand that protection further—and create a new employment-law risk ...

Federal anti-discrimination law gives employees either 180 or 300 days (depending on the state they live in) from the time of an alleged unlawful practice to file an employment discrimination claim with the EEOC. A bill pushed by Democrats this year would have changed the 180/300 days statute of limitation in pay discrimination cases in a more employee-friendly way ...

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz ...

In December, the EEOC issued new guidance on employment tests and selection procedures under three laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The key to complying is to make sure each employment test is directly job-related and focuses on business necessity ...

It’s legitimate to discipline or fire employees who behave badly. But employers that mandate suspension or termination for rule violations must apply the policy to everyone who violates the same rule. Then they should follow up with a prompt and thorough investigation into exactly what happened ...

Sometimes, a sexual harassment or other discrimination complaint ends up revealing more about the person complaining than it does about the alleged offense. If you conduct a fair, impartial and prompt investigation and discover that the problem is with the person making the complaint, you can take action ...

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 ...