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Discrimination / Harassment

Houston City Council passes anti-discrimination measure

07/07/2014
Houston employers have a new local anti-discrimination ordinance to comply with. In addition to the classes protected by federal and state law, Houston now protects employees from discrimination based on familial status, marital status, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Remind supervisors: You don’t tolerate name-calling, especially when it’s race-based

07/07/2014
If there is one thing that will get a federal judge’s attention, it’s name-calling that targets a particular race or ethnicity. While one comment may not be enough for a lawsuit, repeated name-calling almost certainly demonstrates hostility. That’s especially true if a supervisor makes the comments.

Need to alter duties? Document the reasons

07/07/2014

Employers have the right to manage their workforces in the most efficient way possible as long as they don’t discriminate. As a practical matter, that means employers should think ahead to a potential lawsuit when making significant workplace changes such as reducing the workforce, consolidating positions and reassigning work.

Not every hotline call is protected activity

07/07/2014

Many employers have a hotline that employees can call to report discrimination, harassment or other workplace problems. Generally, employees who call a hotline are protected against retaliation because the call itself is “protected activity.” But that’s not always the case.

Harsh criticism alone isn’t discrimination; bias must be tied to protected characteristic

07/07/2014
While yelling and screaming may be uncomfortable for employees, such behavior usually doesn’t reach the level of an unlawful discrimination or a “hostile environment” unless it relates to a protected characteristic like age, sex, race or religion.

Erie, Pa. restaurant settles harassment case for $20,000

07/02/2014
Outrageous behavior by a co-owner of Ricardo’s Restaurant in Erie has cost the establishment $20,000. The EEOC reports that it has settled sexual harassment complaints filed by one of the restaurant’s former employees.

Temp agency sued for refusing to place HIV-positive worker

07/02/2014
Pittsburgh-based Maxim Healthcare faces a suit from the EEOC after it refused to place an HIV-positive health­­­­care worker at a Veterans Admin­­is­­­­tra­­tion hospital.

Your potential allies in case of a lawsuit: Applicants who turned down a job offer

07/02/2014
Here’s a case that shows how important it is to keep good records of the interview and hiring process. When a rejected applicant sued, an employer ended up having to call in former applicants to whom it had offered jobs but who had turned down the offers. The employer won the case on the strength of those other candidates’ testimony.

Respond ASAP to complaints about stereotyping

07/02/2014
You may have read that stray comments aren’t enough to create liability. That’s true. However, when those comments are “pervasive and regular,” it’s another matter. And the line between stray and regular is anything but clear.

Male employee needs to ‘support his family’: Is that a legal reason to pay him more?

07/02/2014
Here’s a warning for any HR pro or supervisor involved in hiring or pay decisions: Avoid sexist comments about compensation, and steer clear of increasing an employee’s salary because he’s the family breadwinner and, thus, “needs” more money.