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Discrimination / Harassment

Retaining younger workers but terminating older ones? Better have a good reason

05/08/2015
If you happen to fire an older worker but retain younger ones, you should expect a potential age discrimination lawsuit. If you’re prepared, you stand a dramatically better chance of winning.

EEOC conciliation process post-Mach Mining

05/07/2015
On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Mach Mining v. EEOC, a case that set new standards for challenging whether the EEOC engaged in a good-faith conciliation process before suing. In the wake of the decision, employers can expect more pre-litigation outreach from the EEOC.

Tossed: $10.5 million reverse bias suit against Ithaca PD

05/06/2015
A white police officer’s suit against the city of Ithaca has been dismissed. The officer alleged racial discrimination after he lost a promotion to a black officer.

NYPD settles sex harassment complaint for $110,000

05/06/2015
The New York Police Department will pay a female officer $110,000 to settle charges a superior officer harassed her and then retaliated when she refused his advances.

Second chances, patience make discharge decision stick

05/06/2015
Courts often reward employers for offering second chances to employees who might otherwise be fired.

Single comment doesn’t justify hostile environment case

05/06/2015
Rest easy: As long as you take appropriate action to stop racially charged comments, the first one won’t land you in court. The key is to take every complaint seriously and immediately investigate any complaints. Then discipline the person who made the comments and warn against further comments.

Employee treated like a ‘nobody’? That’s not enough justification for a lawsuit

05/06/2015
When a worker is fired, he or she may look for a potential lawsuit. A visit to a lawyer may be enough to stir memories of alleged discrimination. Every little incident then becomes the basis for a discrimination claim. Fortunately, unless the fired worker complained earlier about the alleged discrimination or has a plausible explanation for why he didn’t, courts toss most such cases out.

Part-timers can file age discrimination claims, too

05/06/2015
Part-timers enjoy the same protection from age bias as full-timers do.

Activist’s challenge to equal rights rule fails

05/04/2015
An antigay activist has failed in his attempt to defeat the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which would recognize sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.

Court holds firm on 180-day deadline for filing discrimination complaints with TCHR

05/04/2015

A Texas court has refused to give workers additional time to file discrimination lawsuits based on a so-called “discovery” rule. The case involved an employee who argued he had more time to sue because he did not realize he had been discriminated against during the 180 days immediately following the alleged discrimination. He said it took longer than that for it to become obvious that bias had occurred.