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Discrimination / Harassment

Midland, Texas company must pay $1 million for pregnancy bias

06/27/2018
Brinkerhoff Inspections will pay over $1 million for the actions of its HR manager at its Midland, Texas facility after a federal jury returned a verdict against the oilfield services company.

Texas House establishes anti-harassment work group

06/27/2018
A bipartisan team of 10 legislators will continue the Texas House of Representatives’ battle against sexual harassment within the halls of the Texas Capitol.

DOL rejects senators’ request for harassment study

06/27/2018
The U.S. Department of Labor has refused to help a group of Democratic senators seeking to determine the overall impact of workplace sexual harassment on the economy. Now the legislators, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, have turned to the Government Accountability Office for assistance.

You get to choose which promotion criteria to favor

06/27/2018
When setting promotion criteria, feel free to give educational attainment more weight than years of experience on the job. It’s your call.

Religiously affiliated organizations in Texas enjoy broad exemption from some lawsuits

06/27/2018
The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine essentially says that government cannot interfere unduly with how a religious organization operates. It provides protection for seemingly ordinary employment decisions that religious organizations make.

Typo in tax reform law could penalize harassment victims

06/27/2018
Last year’s comprehensive tax reform bill was rushed through Congress in record time. Predictably, that meant errors crept into the legislation—and some of them have had severe consequences.

EEOC settles pregnancy bias lawsuit in San Diego

06/26/2018
Tarr & Zenith, a defunct dietary supplement company in San Diego, has agreed to settle charges it discriminated against two pregnant workers.

Assemble objective data to justify disciplinary and termination decisions

06/26/2018
Employers that have solid, objective information about poor performance seldom lose lawsuits over the firing of a sub-par employee. Just one caveat: The more objective the data, the better.

Bill would lower standard for harassment complaints

06/26/2018
A bill before the Minnesota legislature would establish a lower bar for sexual harassment victims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act than the one required to file claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Avoid discrimination lawsuits! Beware hiring below minimum job requirements

06/26/2018
If you rejected an applicant early in the hiring process because he or she didn’t meet your stated minimum requirements, but then hired someone else who also didn’t meet them, then the rejected applicant may have a potential discrimination lawsuit.