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Discrimination / Harassment

No victim? No problem! EEOC can still sue for bias

03/04/2015
Even if you’re not hearing complaints of bias, realize that insiders can blow the whistle on illegal practices.

Can repeated, petty complaints to HR be considered some form of harassment?

03/03/2015
Q. A more senior employee was recently passed over for a promotion because a newer employee is clearly more qualified. Now that this person is their boss, the more senior employee has filed several petty complaints against her. Although we are aware that these complaints are completely invalid, we in HR have to take it seriously. But it is a shame for the new supervisor to have the complaints piling up in her file. Is this considered harassment?

Nooses in the workplace? Immediately launch thorough investigation

03/03/2015

The only appropriate response to a claim of nooses in the workplace is an immediate investigation. That may require involving the police. Show you take the incident seriously even if the source may be a customer or a contractor. It’s the right approach and the one most likely to cut any potential liability after the fact.

Doesn’t matter that he didn’t put a ring on it! Engagement unnecessary for retaliation

03/03/2015
Back in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employee who was fired after his fiancé—who worked for the same employer—filed an internal discrimination complaint could sue on his own accord alleging retaliation. The fiancé, the court concluded, was within the “zone of interest” meant to be protected from retaliation under Title VII. The Court held that by firing someone’s significant other, the employer in effect would indirectly punish the complainer. Until now, exactly who would be included in the “zone of interest” was in question.

Pennsylvania bosses personally liable for bias

03/03/2015
Here’s an important addition to your training curriculum: Make sure supervisors understand that under Pennsylvania law—unlike federal law—­they may be personally liable for discriminating against employees.

Few details needed to begin hostile environment suit

03/03/2015
Employees who claim they were victims of a sexually hostile work environment don’t have to provide an exhaustive list of alleged hostile acts. Details can be provided later.

Single stupid comment can tank legitimate decision

03/02/2015
Bosses who don’t have appropriate verbal filters can accidentally turn a legitimate management decision into evidence of discrimination.

Appeal of firing doesn’t give more time to sue

03/02/2015
Employees who claim they were fired for discriminatory reasons have just 300 days to file an EEOC complaint. The clock starts ticking the day they’re terminated, not when they have exhausted internal appeals processes.

Harassment or just a bad-behaving boss?

02/26/2015
Courts expect em­­ploy­­ees to have relatively thick skins. Behavior that is crude or obnoxious isn’t usually grounds for a harassment lawsuit unless it targets people based on a protected characteristic (sex, age, race, disability, etc.).Still, the “equal opportunity harasser” argument is a pretty flimsy nail to hang your defense on.

Justices appear ready to back applicant in hijab case

02/26/2015
Oral arguments held Feb. 25 in a Supreme Court case involving a teenager who says the Muslim headscarf she wore to an interview cost her a job at Abercrombie & Fitch did not go well for the retail chain.