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Discrimination / Harassment

Accommodating religion: What HR & managers need to know

03/12/2013
The increasing religious diversity in the workforce is causing more managers to make legal mistakes. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to dis­­crimi­­nate against applicants or em­­ployees based on their religion. Here’s what the law means to employers and managers on a practical, day-by-day level.

Scooter Store settles suit alleging it violated ADA

03/07/2013
New Braunfels-based mobility aids retailer The Scooter Store has settled a disability discrimination suit with the former manager of a store in New York. The manager claimed the store fired him after he requested a leave of absence to care for his psoriatic arthritis.

Courts cracking down on pro se litigants

03/07/2013
Employers that face lawsuits from employees who act as their own lawyers know it’s hard to get those cases dismissed. But judges are becoming more sensitive to this problem—and less tolerant of pro se litigants.

It’s up to employee to connect dots between alleged bias, protected status

03/07/2013
The fact that a worker may endure slights, insults or even plots to drive him out of the job aren’t necessarily the basis for liability. It’s up to the employee to prove a connection between incidents and something like his race, age, disability or other protected characteristic.

Employee complains and then quits? Investigate anyway, to prove what happened

03/07/2013
When you get a discrimination or harassment complaint, it’s essential to launch an immediate investigation. If the employee quits, continue the investigation. That way, in case of a lawsuit, you can show the court you took the complaint seriously.

Name-calling may be just the tip of the iceberg

03/07/2013
If you are receiving reports that a manager or supervisor is engaging in name-calling, look beyond the obvious problem. It just may be that discrimination is a pervasive problem. It’s your job to bring it to light before it’s too late.

Use clear policy to thwart harassment claims

03/07/2013
One of the best ways to fight hostile work environment claims: a handbook with a strong sexual harassment policy that shows em­ployees exactly how they should report problems.

When it comes to discrimination, retaliation is still the No. 1 risk

03/06/2013
For the third year in a row, retaliation is the No. 1 type of job discrimination claim filed with the EEOC. Employees submitted 37,836 retaliation claims in 2012. That’s only a small increase from 2011, but up more than 100% since 1998.

Avoid bias against newest ‘protected class’–the unemployed

03/05/2013
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting the unemployed from discrimination. The EEOC has investigated bias against the unemployed and warns employers they could face disparate-impact discrimination lawsuits if screening out the unemployed hurts women and minorities more than other groups.

Study spots patterns in New York discrimination litigation

03/05/2013
Employers continue to prevail in most New York discrimination cases, but litigation is taking longer. Those are among the key findings of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s recently published 2012 Study of Employment Discrimination Litigation in the Northern and Western Districts of New York.