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Discrimination / Harassment

Accommodating religion in the 21st century workplace

11/27/2013
Employers are often reluctant to raise concerns over the impact of an employee’s religious practices. Those issues generally aren’t considered to be job-related, and the fear is that addressing them might cause a discrimination lawsuit.

EEOC sues over alleged ‘mark of the beast’ monitoring

11/27/2013
The EEOC is suing Canonsburg-based CONSOL Energy on behalf of an evangelical Christian who retired from his job rather than submit to biometric scanning designed to track his work time and activities.

Isolated attack not grounds for harassment lawsuit

11/27/2013
Employers can control some hazardous work conditions, but not all of them. What a particular customer or client may do when he comes in contact with an employee likely falls into the uncontrollable category.

2 tactics to prevent needless litigation: Online applications and blind screening

11/27/2013
One way to ensure “blind” hiring is to create an online application process that doesn’t ask for protected-class information. Then perform initial screening without actually interviewing candidates.

Cary salesman’s last-ditch affidavit saves age bias case

11/26/2013
A former car salesman who claimed a Cary dealership fired him because it felt selling cars was a “young man’s game” appears to have plucked victory from the jaws of legal defeat.

One-time offensive comment not enough for a lawsuit

11/26/2013
Co-workers can and do get into arguments with other employees and may say things that are downright offensive. But courts expect employees to have relatively thick skins, at least when the perceived harassment is coming from co-workers and not a supervisor.

Employee acts as own lawyer? You’ll need to be patient

11/26/2013
When so-called pro se litigants represent themselves before the EEOC and in federal court, you’ll need patience. It will pay off in the long run.

High-level managers have pay discretion? You’re courting a class-action lawsuit

11/26/2013
Broad discretion about compensation at the bottom of the pay scale usually prevents employees from pursuing a class-action lawsuit similar to the one in the Supreme Court’s 2011 landmark Wal-Mart v. Dukes case. However, all bets are off if the issue is pay for higher-level employees.

Ensure bosses provide training for everyone

11/26/2013
Here’s a tip that can save you from needless litigation: Make sure supervisors don’t play favorites with some employees at the expense of others. You never know which employee will later claim she was excluded from the “inner circle” that got preferential treatment because of a protected characteristic.

Take steps to stop blatant customer harassment

11/26/2013
Employers can’t control everything—including situations in which customers harass employees. As long as you take reasonable measures to prevent or stop blatant harassment, a single incident won’t mean you will be liable for customer harassment.