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Discrimination / Harassment

Consistent discipline makes it easier to beat employees’ discrimination lawsuits

08/13/2012
For employers, the best way to win discrimination lawsuits is consistency. When you enforce a workplace rule, do so for everyone who violates that rule—every time. That makes it difficult for an employee to cry discrimination over a discipline dispute.

Management expert sacked, sues managers for age bias

08/13/2012
Rodd Wagner has written best-selling books telling employers how to treat their employees more ethically. That didn’t prevent him from being fired from his job as a management consultant at Gallup, Inc.

Public employees have rights beyond those in Title VII

08/13/2012
People living in the United States are protected from state actions that violate the Constitution, a right that goes beyond those accorded to employees under Title VII.

Courts limit punitive damages in discrimination cases

08/13/2012
Punitive damages can take a case that’s worth just a few thousand dollars and send the tab skyrocketing. Fortunately, courts want to see clear evidence that the employer acted recklessly before they ask juries if punitive damages are appropriate.

OK to fire employee who complained, if you have rock-solid discharge reasons

08/13/2012

Some employees assume that complaining about harassment or discrimination will protect them from being disciplined. They may have heard or read that the fear of a retaliation lawsuit will make employers so gun-shy that they won’t crack down on misbehavior. Don’t let employees handcuff you like that.

Late EEOC filing? Better be able to prove it

08/13/2012

Employees typically have just 300 days to file EEOC and state discrimination complaints. Otherwise, their lawsuits will be tossed out. But it’s the employer’s burden to prove the complaint was filed too late—not the employee’s burden to prove he filed on time.

Beware bias based on employee’s tribal status

08/13/2012
A court has decided employees can sue employers for national-origin discrimination based on an unexpected characteristic: the employee’s tribal affiliation. National-origin discrimination lawsuits are usually based on being from a particular country, but belonging to a specific tribe can count, too.

As boomers get older, age-bias claims spike: Avoid trouble by heeding new DOL guidance

08/08/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy just unveiled a study, Employer Strategies for Responding to an Aging Workforce. The study urges employers to follow these strategies to avoid age discrimination complaints:

Co-worker complaints not enough to establish accommodation hardship

08/07/2012
Title VII requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee whose sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance conflicts with a work requirement, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship. If you are planning to reject an employee’s request for a shift change as a religious accommodation, you must be able to support the claim of hardship with facts.

Goodyear settles disability suit

08/07/2012
Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has paid $20,000 to a former employee at a plant in North Carolina who claims she was fired because of a medical condition.