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Discrimination / Harassment

Transfer won’t be considered adverse if duties don’t substantially change

06/09/2016
Want to transfer an employee to give her a fresh start after settling an informal complaint? As long as her job remains essentially the same and the position isn’t radically different, such a move probably won’t be viewed as retaliation or another instance of discrimination.

Lawyer hoped for Philly, had to settle for Harrisburg

06/03/2016
Some federal courts may be perceived as more favorable to employees because of the demographic pool from which they draw jurors.

Lawler Foods to pay $1M to settle race bias charges

06/03/2016
Houston-based Lawler Foods will pay $1,042,000 to settle charges it discriminated against applicants who aren’t of Hispanic origin. Three black applicants filed discrimination charges after Lawler refused to hire them.

EEOC sues Murphy Oil for ADA violations

06/02/2016

Murphy Oil Corp., the San Antonio company that operates Murphy USA gas stations typically located in Walmart parking lots in over 20 states, violated federal law by firing a store manager because of his disability, the EEOC charges in a lawsuit filed in May.

Ensure similar infractions are similarly punished

06/02/2016
Make sure that you punish similar transgressions fairly and equally. That’s especially true for serious rules violations. A pattern of punishing one protected class more severely than another is sure to lead to litigation.

For federal employees, complaint clock starts ticking on date of adverse decision

06/02/2016
Federal employees have just 45 days after a discriminatory act or decision to file an internal complaint.

Excluding women isn’t an acceptable sexual harassment-prevention strategy

06/02/2016
Employers are obligated to provide a work environment free of sexual harassment. They can’t satisfy that responsibility by segregating the workforce by gender, even if doing so would certainly prevent harassment.

No matter how unlikely the allegations, always investigate reverse sex discrimination

05/31/2016
Here’s a reminder that it’s not just women who can allege sex discrimination and a hostile work environment. Men can, too, under the right circumstances.

After harassment, be careful who you transfer

05/26/2016
If you fear for an employee’s safety after he has complained about a hostile work environment, think twice before transferring him instead of the person or people who are the source of the hostility.

Three cases form basis of EEOC’s stance on transgender bias

05/18/2016
On May 9, North Carolina sued the U.S. Department of Justice to stop the federal government from ordering the state to set aside its Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act—the so-called transgender bathroom bill.