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Discrimination / Harassment

Pennsylvania State Office of Open Records accused of age discrimination

01/29/2016
An attorney with long experience working for Pennsylvania state agencies has filed an EEOC complaint alleging that the state’s Office of Open Records refused to hire him because of his age.

Scranton prof sues, says he lost tenure for being Greek

01/29/2016
A former professor at the University of Scranton has sued the university claiming it denied him tenure and fired him because of his Greek heritage.

Austin employee promoted, files race bias suit anyway

01/28/2016
Employees who get promotions generally don’t sue their employers, but an administrative specialist for the city of Austin, Texas, has done just that.

What can I do about employee whose volunteer firefighting duties interfere with work?

01/15/2016

Q. One of my employees is a volunteer firefighter. Although I believe that volunteering is important, his absences to respond to emergencies have disrupted workplace productivity. Can I replace him or stop him from being absent from work?

Review your own ‘playbook’ on alcoholism, accommodations

01/15/2016
2015 saw much media attention focused on the activities of coaches and players off the field—for the wrong reasons.

Lake County, Calif., prison guard files bias suit over demotion

01/15/2016
A Lake County corrections officer claims the county discriminated against him because of his race when it demoted him after an inmate was injured and later died.

Train managers on job protections for employees who are victims of domestic abuse

01/15/2016
Some California employees who are victims of domestic violence have limited job protection when they need time off for treatment, court dates or other related events.

Other than ‘Congratulations!’ avoid most comments about pregnancy

01/15/2016
California law prohibits harassment on account of pregnancy. But not every comment about a pregnancy is grounds for a lawsuit. An innocent comment—or even a mildly offensive one—may be annoying, but that’s not illegal.

What protections do transgender employees and applicants have in Minnesota?

01/12/2016
Q. A job applicant disclosed during the interview that she is transgender. We are concerned that hiring this person may make other employees uncomfortable. I know it is against the law for Minnesota employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Does that, however, extend to transgender individuals?

Over GOP objections, Dayton OKs settling employee lawsuit

01/12/2016
Gov. Mark Dayton has authorized a $200,000 payment to settle a defamation, discrimination and harassment lawsuit filed by a former state employee.