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Discrimination / Harassment

Sexual harassment + retaliation = EEOC lawsuit

09/22/2022
A female employee was sexually harassed, then transferred and denied promotional opportunity because she complained. That triple whammy violation of federal law resulted in an EEOC lawsuit filed in early September.

Pay disparity lawsuit blooms

09/22/2022
A class action filed on Sept. 8 for claims under the Equal Pay Act asserts that women in managerial positions are paid at a lower rate than men in managerial positions.

Avoid letting client prejudice send you to court

09/22/2022
Here’s a warning about indulging prejudices. Judges don’t want to hear the excuse that you discriminated against a protected class member because your customer, patient or client demanded you do.

Employment nonprofit settles race discrimination

09/20/2022
A Black employee working for a nonprofit at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming was subjected to racial slurs and other offensive racial comments by a White colleague.

Court tosses anti-vax claim of religious exemption

09/15/2022
Handling requests to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs or practices can be tricky because the law defines religion rather loosely. Workers with beliefs clearly far outside mainstream religions are still protected from employment discrimination.

SHRM lawsuit puts spotlight on evaluations

09/15/2022
The best way to defend against a surprise discrimination lawsuit is to conduct accurate, regular reviews that assess a worker’s performance using as many objective standards as possible. Those evaluations then serve to back up any disciplinary action you take, even if the employee files an internal bias complaint and follows up with a lawsuit claiming subsequent discipline amounted to retaliation.

Take care when adopting AI for use in HR

09/15/2022
Artificial intelligence has become an indispensable HR tool. But like most tools, AI can be dangerous if it is not used properly.

Conduct audit to assess balanced workplace

09/01/2022
Discrimination lawsuits can pop up from out of nowhere. That leaves HR scrambling to prove there has been no inadvertent discrimination. Prepare to do better.

Judge: Florida’s ‘anti-woke’ law can’t limit DEI training

08/30/2022
A federal judge has blocked Florida from enforcing part of a new state law that aimed to limit workplace anti-discrimination training.

Swearing at work: When is it considered harassment?

08/18/2022
According to one survey, 57% of American employees admit to swearing at work. But where is the line between swearing as harmless workplace banter and swearing as harmful, unlawful harassment?