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Discrimination / Harassment

Avoid deviating from past disciplinary process

07/30/2018
When you have a disciplinary process in place and have used it before, don’t deviate from it unless you encounter truly extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, you may face a discrimination claim.

Court outlines three categories of disability associational discrimination

07/30/2018
A California appeals court has outlined three types of illegal disability associational discrimination. Employers should take note and make sure managers and supervisors understand that they cannot use those reasons to justify not hiring, sidelining or terminating employees who care for or are related to disabled persons.

Problems discovered during protected leave? Document history and details of deficiencies

07/30/2018
Sometimes, managers or supervisors don’t realize the extent of a subordinate’s poor performance until the employee is out on leave and someone else has temporarily taken over the job. If that happens in your organization, be sure to carefully document the deficiencies before you take action.

Go beyond harassment best practices: Add respect to your culture

07/26/2018
This current wave of harassment accusation appears to be a fundamental climate change in how our culture handles power and ethics. Your organization has two choices—be reactive and live in fear of it happening to you, or be proactive and get ahead of it.

Prefer federal court venue? Prove what’s at stake

07/24/2018
Often, employers prefer to be sued in federal court instead of state courts. To move a case from state court to federal court, you must show that the matter in controversy is worth $75,000 or more.

8th Circuit reiterates: Employees who sue have no right to free legal assistance

07/24/2018
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals had reaffirmed that former employees who are poor and who are struggling to represent themselves aren’t entitled to the help of an attorney at no charge.

Warn supervisors: Never delete texts and emails related to employee’s complaint

07/24/2018
Be sure to warn supervisors and managers that if an employee has filed an EEOC or internal complaint or a state or federal lawsuit, deleting texts or emails related even tangentially to the underlying complaint can be risky.

Mind deadlines when employee files bias charges

07/19/2018
Employees must meet strict deadlines when filing discrimination claims with the EEOC and state anti-discrimination agencies.

Prepare to turn over disciplinary records if employee files a discrimination lawsuit

07/18/2018
When an employee sues for alleged discrimination, he or she is generally entitled to access all relevant employer documents. If you disciplined the employee, chances are you will have to turn over disciplinary records concerning other staff. Don’t expect to keep those records confidential.

When punishing harassment, you may discipline different perpetrators differently

07/14/2018
Employers investigating workplace harassment accusations may wonder if all the alleged perpetrators must be disciplined equally harshly. You do have some discretion in how you mete out punishment. Just make sure you can later justify why one party was less culpable or deserved a lesser punishment than others.