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Discrimination / Harassment

Don’t let holiday party end in litigation

11/15/2022
Getting together in person in a casual and festive environment is an opportunity to reestablish relationships and strengthen the corporate culture. But all that merriment comes at a price—potential lawsuits over everything from booking a non-accessible site for your disabled workers to religious objections if the party is mandatory to sexual harassment fueled by excess alcohol and lowered inhibitions. Here’s how to throw a party with minimal legal risk.

Watch those deadlines! Harvard didn’t

11/08/2022
You heard about the affirmative action case filed against Harvard University; the oral arguments took place in October before the Supreme Court. At least Harvard assumed you heard about the case. The university also assumed that their insurance company, Zurich American Insurance Co., knew about it. Wrong.

Kroger needed a policy for a rainy day

11/08/2022
Kroger has settled a religious bias claim for $180,000. Two religious employees in Arkansas refused to wear the grocery chain’s rainbow heart logo on their aprons because they claimed the rainbow represented support for LGBTQ people and politics, which they opposed on religious grounds.

Lactation breaks may cause resentment

11/01/2022
The right to unlimited lactation breaks can create scheduling headaches as co-workers and supervisors scramble to ensure coverage. Some co-workers may even express resentment. Fortunately, a recent federal appeals case doesn’t hold employers responsible for this.

Women exit in record numbers

10/26/2022
Female leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate in years, and the gap between male and female leaders leaving is the largest ever seen, according to Lean In’s 2022 Women in the Workplace Report.

Tattoos no longer workplace taboo

10/26/2022
Since the start of covid, a study shows that 60% of Americans think that the definition of what is deemed “professional” has changed, according to Bloomberg. And that includes tattoos.

Sexual harassment: This employer did everything right

10/26/2022
Fortunately for the defendant-employer in this case, it had an effective policy and made it available to employees (including the plaintiffs) in various ways.

Are you prepared for layoffs?

10/26/2022
Increasingly, workers who have sidelined themselves are returning to the labor market. This means new hires are more likely to come from legally protected groups, including those older than 40, the disabled and women with young children. Now is the time to prepare for inevitable layoffs in a way that doesn’t trap you in litigation.

Head-scratcher: Staffing company hires based on race, sex and other discriminatory practices

10/26/2022
Another staffing company was hit with a lawsuit for complying with clients’ race and sex preferences, placing employees in positions based on race and sex, and rejecting pregnant applicants.

HR department party to racial slurs, DOJ lawsuit contends

10/26/2022
When an African American employee subjected to a racial slur complained to the HR department, he and a fellow employee were allegedly targeted with additional harassment and then fired, according to a DOJ lawsuit filed in October against Bartow County, Ga.