Discrimination / Harassment

Follow EEOC’s recipe for anti-harassment training

01/22/2024

Employers in industries such as hospitality and retail often promote rank-and-file workers to supervisory roles. That may mean that front-line supervisors may not have had the formal training required for their new jobs. That means it’s up to HR to ensure new bosses understand all their responsibilities, including how to handle discrimination and harassment they witness. A recent EEOC lawsuit offers lessons on how to deliver that training.

Review compensation practices to identify potential sources of pay inequity

01/02/2024

Your employees probably no longer consider it taboo to discuss salaries and benefits with their co-workers and friends. That means they can easily tell how your compensation system compares with that of other employers. It also means they can easily spot inequities in how you pay employees up and down your org chart. If they determine that wage gaps exist, don’t be surprised if they decide to sue you for discrimination.

Employers beware: Supreme Court could make it easier to sue for discrimination

01/02/2024

The U.S. Supreme Court recently held oral arguments in an employment law case that may make it much easier for employees to sue their employers. If a majority of the justices agree with an employee who claims her transfer was motivated by her employer’s discriminatory policies, the decision may also open the way for more lawsuits contesting employers’ diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Think creatively about how to comply with PUMP Act milk-expression requirements

12/20/2023

Many employers still struggle with how to provide the required breast-milk expression breaks required by the year-old Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act. PUMP Act compliance is especially challenging in unusual work environments. However, a recent lawsuit settlement involving an airline addresses best practices employers can adopt even in difficult circumstances.

Use blind résumé screening process to reduce liability for discrimination in hiring

12/20/2023

Every applicant you ever rejected could decide to sue for some form of discrimination. Make that less likely by using a blind screening process to sort through applications and résumés.

Post-Groff, a perfect illustration of religious accommodation

12/19/2023

If you’re going to claim an undue hardship to deny an employees’ religious accommodation request, you best have your Groff v. DeJoy ducks in a row … and by ducks, I mean empirical evidence of actual costs that substantially and negatively affect your entire business.

Holiday party triggers sexual hijinks? Beware harassment afterward

12/15/2023

Workplace romances or plain old carnal excess can have an adverse effect on the morale of other employees. For example, what happens when co-workers report out-of-control holiday hijinks to management? And what if the co-workers caught in flagrante delicto exact revenge on the tattletales? It just might amount to illegal retaliation.

When high-level harassment erupts, act fast to prevent even worse legal trouble

12/08/2023

Here’s a cautionary tale that offers an inevitable lesson: When a supervisor’s harassment spills out into the greater workplace, the claims will grow exponentially.

Avoid repeating Apple’s surprising $25 million discrimination mistake

11/27/2023

The EEOC handled 5,500 complaints about national-origin discrimination in fiscal year 2022, the lowest number on record. Take that as a sign that employers have largely succeeded in stamping out bias based on where an applicant or employee comes from. But the federal government is still vigorously litigating national-origin claims it does uncover, going after employers that treat applicants or employees unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world.

Psst, have you heard…? The answer should probably be ‘no’