• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Applicant selling himself short? That’s no reason to pay him less

11/13/2015

Sometimes, applicants don’t know how much money to ask for. That’s especially true if their target employer isn’t open about salary ranges or how much it is willing to pay for a particular job. What should you do if an applicant is asking for less money than the position potentially pays?

Beware the scope of religious accommodations

11/13/2015
Most employers are aware that certain dress and grooming practices generally must be accommodated in the workplace.

LGBT leader resigns, cites retaliation in firings

11/13/2015
The University of Minnesota at Duluth is still reeling from discrimination charges after it failed to renew hockey coach Shannon Miller’s contract. Miller and three of her coaches, all of whom are openly gay, were terminated.

Austin software firm sued for pregnancy discrimination

11/12/2015
Austin, Tx.-based e-MDs, which develops software for managing medical practices, faces charges it terminated an employee because she took maternity leave.

Same person sends hundreds of applications? Don’t fall into discrimination lawsuit trap

11/12/2015

Sometimes an eager candidate will apply for several jobs with the same employer. If you are sure he or she isn’t qualified, you don’t have to agree to an interview for each open position. Be aware that if you do interview him for one of the positions and choose someone else outside his protected class, he may sue and argue he was much better qualified than whoever you did choose.

Home health care firm said to fire worker for being pregnant

11/12/2015
The EEOC claims Your Health Team illegally fired a home health care aide simply because she was pregnant.

Requesting Sunday off for ‘religious reasons’ not enough

11/09/2015
Employees who want to alter their schedule to accommodate religious needs need to do more than simply mention religion generally. At a minimum, they need to explain their religious practices.

Alerting boss of job-bias rules is not ‘protected activity’

11/09/2015
The role of an HR professional includes educating management on anti-discrimination laws. Doing so is generally considered doing one’s job and isn’t protected activity.

Responding to harassment complaint? Don’t force victim into unfair decision

11/09/2015

There’s a right way and a wrong way to handle a sexual harassment complaint that may have involved physical assault. Suspending the alleged harasser is the safest approach. Telling the allegedly assaulted employee to choose between accepting a transfer or working with the harasser is not. She likely will quit and fire off a claim that she was constructively discharged.

Victim didn’t complain about supposed hostility in workplace? He may be out of luck

11/09/2015
If an employee ignores slurs or other hostile behavior—or even jokes about it with co-workers—that may be evidence the employee wasn’t personally offended and, therefore, won’t be successful in his hostile environment lawsuit.