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Discrimination / Harassment

Avoid ‘overqualified’ label, often just another way to say ‘too old’

12/20/2024
Warn hiring managers to refrain from calling job candidates “overqualified.” It’s a legally explosive term that’s often construed as a polite way to call someone too old. At the very least, avoid using the term in front of applicants or in any written materials describing them, such as interview notes.

Win lawsuits by documenting consistent, equitable interview process

12/16/2024
When interviewing more than one candidate to fill a job, the easiest way to prevent failure-to-hire lawsuits is to ask the same questions of every candidate. That’s especially important when there are several rounds of interviews or when a committee conducts the interviews.

Legacy of pay discrimination just cost this employer $43 million

12/16/2024
The federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act lets employees sue at any time for pay discrimination if their current paycheck reflects past discrimination. Thus, if a female employee discovers she’s being paid less than a man doing the same work, she can sue and receive back pay for at least two years’ worth of discriminatory paychecks.

Cost of denying vaccine-related religious-accommodation request? It’s measured in millions

12/06/2024
Before Groff v. DeJoy, an employer only had to show that approving a request for a religious accommodation would have “more than a de minimis” impact on the employer. That made turning down requests easy. Not anymore.

Consider disclosing starting pay—it may be mandatory

12/06/2024
You may have noticed lately that more recruiting ads include the starting salary range the employer plans to pay. That was almost unheard of a decade ago. Credit the change to the rapid expansion of the pay-transparency movement.

Here come the new state employment laws for 2025

12/06/2024
States are emerging as prime sources of new employment-related laws. Here is a sampling of new laws scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, or soon after.

Use objective reasons to justify terminations

12/02/2024
Ensure that all terminations are based on solid business reasons. And be sure to carefully document why you decided to terminate, even if you don’t share the rationale with the employee.

The PWFA litigation flood has arrived

11/13/2024
The EEOC has filed the first round of its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act lawsuits alleging interference with the legislation that requires employers to reasonably accommodate conditions related to pregnancy. If you haven’t yet read the regulations and changed your policies and practices to conform to the rules, there’s no time to lose.

“Why would you want to do a man’s job?”

11/13/2024
That’s one of the sexist questions the EEOC alleges Waste Industries—a solid waste removal, recycling and landfill service provider—repeatedly asked female job applicants. As a result, the company agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle the agency’s pattern-or-practice sex-discrimination claim.

Ensure undesirable tasks aren’t assigned only to minorities

11/13/2024
Eleven Black employees of Peoples Gas of Chicago filed a lawsuit alleging they were victims of race discrimination when they were assigned to more dangerous neighborhoods.