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Discrimination / Harassment

Employee complained in the past? Keep that info from new supervisor

12/05/2014
Here’s an easy way to stop retaliation lawsuits: If an employee has complained in the past about harassment, discrimination or other legal wrongs, make sure that information stays confidential.

No matter who says it, there’s one word you should always ban from your workplace

12/05/2014
Here’s something to consider when punishing employees for the use of racial or ethnic slurs: Don’t think that one race can use a term, but that another cannot.

Lawsuit for guard who took a knife, got the ax

12/05/2014
Pittsburgh security firm Capital Asset Protection can look forward to an age discrimination from a 70-year-old former security guard who was hailed as a hero for helping to end a violent rampage at a high school—and then lost his job.

Immediately address every harassment complaint

12/05/2014
Don’t think that by ignoring obvious harassment, it will go away. More likely, the offensive be­­havior will escalate—and may even turn into a brawl or worse.

EEOC charges, monetary settlements decline

12/01/2014
The number of EEOC charges fell slightly in fiscal year 2014, but employers wound up paying dramatically less for workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation than they did in 2013.

Dress Codes

12/01/2014

HR Law 101: Workplace dress codes touch on a variety of issues, including workplace safety, freedom of speech, personal hygiene, customer relations, religious freedom, the minimum wage and racial and gender stereotypes. Employers have a number of legitimate reasons for imposing a dress code, but court rulings have limited their options…

Sexual Orientation Issues

12/01/2014
HR Law 101: Although Title VII does not specifically protect workers because of their sexual orientation, 21 states and the District of Columbia have laws that do. Similarly, 17 states and the District of Columbia have laws barring private employers from discriminating based on gender identity.

EEOC files its first case alleging transgender bias

11/20/2014
For the first time in its history, the EEOC has filed suit against employers alleging discrimination against transgender employees.

Investigate, separate the parties when employee alleges co-worker harassment

11/17/2014
When an employee claims a co-worker sexually harassed her, employers have to investigate the claim, even if there aren’t any witnesses. Getting to the truth requires a timely investigation, as well as immediately separating the co-workers.

Bullying alone is not legitimate grounds for lawsuit–yet

11/14/2014

Employers should, of course, always discourage bullying. It crushes employee morale and spikes turnover. But unless employees can prove they were targeted for bullying and harassment based on a protected characteristic (sex, race, age, etc.), they typically won’t have a case against an equal-opportunity screamer boss.