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Discrimination / Harassment

How much could retaliation cost? Try $366 million

06/05/2023
Employees frequently sue for retaliation if they experience backlash after complaining about race discrimination at work. If the victim is punished with a pay cut, demotion, transfer to a less desirable location or termination, employers can expect a retaliation lawsuit. In cases like that, employees don’t even have to prove they experienced discrimination. They just have to prove they were punished for complaining.

Caution! EEOC guidance puts employers on notice for AI liability

05/30/2023
The EEOC has recently become quite proactive about the downsides of artificial intelligence, warning employers that using AI in the hiring process could lead to violations of anti-discrimination laws. The commission is rightly worried that certain AI programs may be designed in ways that either actively discriminate against members of a protected class or have an adverse impact on them.

Transfer after harassment complaint is OK if the new position is comparable

05/30/2023
Employers can’t punish workers for filing a discrimination or harassment complaint. That would be illegal retaliation. But what’s less clear is what exactly constitutes punishment? Under the law, it isn’t punishment unless the employer’s action amounts to an adverse employment action.

Handle requests for religious accommodations by holding interactive talks about options

05/24/2023
Title VII requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs and practices. Employers must handle requests for religious accommodations just as they do requests for disability accommodations under the ADA—through an interactive process in which the employee’s and the employer’s competing needs are discussed.

EEOC issues one last update to COVID-related anti-discrimination guidance

05/22/2023
In response to the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, the EEOC has updated its guidance on COVID-related discrimination protections.

Cost of segregating jobs by sex: $1.25 million

05/22/2023
Buying into old stereotypes about the kind of work men and women do can be a costly error. One employer recently found that out the hard way, paying $1.25 million when it was caught placing women in traditionally female roles and reserving more physically strenuous (and higher-paying) jobs for men.

Prepare to protect this summer’s unique corps of teen workers

05/22/2023
If you plan to hire teens for seasonal jobs, brace yourself for a teen workforce like no other before it. Prepare to deal with more than the usual amount of teenage angst.

SHRM research: Weight bias clouds judgment of co-workers—and HR pros, too

05/22/2023
Twelve percent of U.S. workers say they have felt unfairly treated due to their weight at some point in their careers, according to new research by the Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM’s research, conducted from February to April, comes against a backdrop of ongoing conversations surrounding weight discrimination in the workplace and the potential introduction of state and local legislation to ban weight discrimination.

Heed EEOC’s latest anti-harassment guidance

05/22/2023
A new EEOC report on preventing and addressing workplace harassment of government employees offers important lessons for private-sector employers, too. The report urges all employers to take a multi-pronged approach to creating an anti-harassment culture in their workplaces.

Your anti-harassment obligations are 24/7/365

05/17/2023
An employer has the same obligations whether the harassment takes place in the workplace during working hours, in the break room, at the bar during happy hour, via text message or social media, in a grocery store aisle or in outer space.