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Discrimination / Harassment

Interview performance can be the hiring tiebreaker

10/02/2013
When several qualified candidates are in the running for a job, you can use interview performance as the deciding factor. Just make sure interviewers note their specific reasons why one applicant seemed better than the others.

Get rid of bad apples! Act fast to fire worker who won’t stop slurs despite warnings

10/02/2013
What should you do when an employee keeps spouting offensive racial slurs despite repeated warnings to stop? Fire her before she says or does something that leads to a lawsuit.

Be alert for hidden–or overt–bias when hiring manager rejects qualified candidate

10/02/2013
Do some of your supervisors gripe about having to follow anti-discrimination laws? Rein them in. Otherwise, you’ll wind up in court if a job candidate gets rejected for obviously illegal reasons.

Don’t let EEOC complaint derail planned firing

10/02/2013
Employees sometimes believe they can stop a pending termination merely by filing an EEOC complaint. The implied threat: That they’ll sue for retaliation if they do, in fact, get fired. That won’t work if the employer can show it would have fired the employee anyway.

EEOC race bias suit targets Carolina Mattress Guild

10/01/2013
The EEOC alleges that Carolina Mattress Guild, based in Thomasville, failed to address black workers’ complaints of a racially hostile work environment and then fired one employee in retaliation for having complained.

Upset you didn’t get the job? Well, did you apply for it?

10/01/2013
Here’s a common-sense ruling: Applicants and employees can’t simply assume they won’t get a job and then sue when the self-fulfilling prophesy comes true. They must make an effort to get the job when it’s clear how to apply.

Elevator company settles with shafted employee

10/01/2013
Schindler Elevator Corp. has agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit filed after it laid off a black elevator mechanic from its Charlotte office, even though he was rated higher than almost all his white co-workers who were retained.

Police want info about an employee? Respond, be honest

10/01/2013
If you’re honest when law enforcement officials ask for information about a potential crime involving an employee, the worker can’t sue for false arrest, even if he’s not formally charged or eventually is found not guilty.

Faith events require reasonable accommodation

10/01/2013
Employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their religious needs, which can include time off to attend religious services. The key is reasonable. If you can document that, under the circumstances, a request is unreasonable, you don’t have to make the accommodation.

Restaurateur tries the ‘I yell at everyone’ defense

09/30/2013
The subject of an EEOC gender discrimination lawsuit claims he berates all his employees, not just the women. The owner of Ricardo’s Restaurant in Erie said so in a response to a sexual harassment suit filed against him by a former employee.