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Discrimination / Harassment

Couple of butt-slaps? Court says that’s not harassment

09/02/2014
You probably won’t be liable for a single incident of sexually oriented co-worker harassment if you punish the transgressor after you discover what happened.

When pay is issue, multiple lawsuits possible

09/02/2014
Here’s a warning about equal pay and the ongoing effects of past discriminatory decisions: Unless you fix the problem, an employee could file multiple lawsuits.

Internal report of wrongdoing not enough to trigger whistle-blower protection

09/02/2014
Texas public employees are protected from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing to an appropriate law enforcement agency. But except in very rare cases, it’s not enough to file an internal complaint that someone within the employee’s agency is breaking the law.

It may be scandalous, but reporting co-worker sexual shenanigans isn’t protected activity

09/02/2014

Employees who report what they perceive as offensive sexual conduct to their employer may think they are engaged in so-called protected activity. That’s rarely the case. While the sexual activity they observe may indeed be offensive in the workplace, reporting it doesn’t mean the employee suddenly has protection from retaliation.

Court: Employees need to grow thicker skins

09/02/2014
Few people like working in a place where supervisors and co-workers make smart comments, raise their voices or engage in other anti-social (and unpleasant) behavior. But that doesn’t mean that sensitive employees can sue their employers anytime their feelings are bruised.

Prepare to explain each step in hiring process

09/02/2014

These days, employers get many more applications for open positions than they can possibly interview. But each of those applicants is a potential litigant. If you use a complicated hiring process with two or more steps, be sure you can explain how each step relied on objective, unbiased assessments of applicant qualifications.

Harassment from subordinate can mean liability

08/29/2014
It’s not just harassment from co-workers and supervisors that can become the basis for a hostile environment claim. When a subordinate harasses his boss and the em­­ployer doesn’t intervene, the supervisor has a claim. That’s why it’s important to address all har­­assment, whatever its source.

Not hiring bikini models? Think twice before excluding men from job assignments

08/29/2014
There are some jobs where the employee’s sex is a “bona fide occupational qualification”—but not many. For the vast majority of positions, employers can’t exclude people of one sex and only hire members of the opposite sex. After a recent appellate decision, it seems unlikely that one-sex hiring will survive legal scrutiny.

Never stereotype jobs based on gender roles

08/29/2014
Remind supervisors and managers that they shouldn’t assign jobs or duties based on a worker’s gender. Nor should anyone in management make comments that could be interpreted as sexist or as assumptions that certain roles are best assigned to either men or women.

Use reasonable rules to beat discipline suits

08/29/2014
For the most part, courts don’t want to second-guess employer discipline. As long as you have reasonable rules in place, let employees know what those rules are and en­­force them consistently, most judges will uphold your disciplinary decisions.