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Discrimination / Harassment

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.

Minorities disproportionately affected? Expect lawsuit

08/07/2012
If a pattern of employer practices seems to discriminate against a particular class of employees, expect trouble. If one employee sues, the court won’t dismiss the case until after expensive and time-consuming pretrial proceedings—if at all.

Employees who sue and lose are now more likely liable for court costs

08/07/2012
In a sign that courts want to discourage frivolous lawsuits, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the assessment of court costs after dismissing a failure-to-promote claim. This is an extremely promising development.

Use greater experience, extra skills to justify why you pay some employees more than others

08/07/2012
Some employees wrongly assume that discrimination must be to blame if someone doing the same work earns more than they do. But even under the Equal Pay Act, employers are allowed to value employees with more highly specific skills and experience.

Mediator called in to clean up Summit prison shower dispute

08/07/2012

Female prison guards and Summit County officials have agreed to bring in a mediator to help settle a long-running dispute over a county policy that forbids the women from guarding prisoners who are showering. The guards claim the policy means they receive fewer raises and miss out on promotion opportunities.

EEOC is on the lookout for ‘beauty bias’

08/07/2012
The EEOC is investigating the Marylou’s Coffee chain, looking into its apparent practice of hiring attractive young women. According to the Fisher Phillips law firm, “the EEOC’s big adventure raises a troubling question: Is the EEOC trying to establish that it’s illegal for an employer to prefer attractive employees over unattractive ones?”

Warn managers not to discuss employees’ ethnicity

08/03/2012
People are naturally curious about where others come from. But at work, such inquisitiveness can lead to misunderstandings—and, ultimately, expensive litigation. That’s why you should counsel supervisors against asking subordinates where they are from or what nationality they hold.

Bully boss? At least make sure he’s equally disagreeable to all kinds of subordinates

08/03/2012
Consider what might happen if a supervisor consistently singles out members of a protected class for tongue-lashings. It could be grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. Monitor subordinate complaints, looking for unusual patterns.

Nassau County settles suit with septuagenarian lifeguard

08/03/2012
He may not make the cast of “Bay­­watch,” but Jay Lieberfarb now has $65,000 that says Nassau County was wrong to fire him from his job as a lifeguard in 2009.

Not all offensive conduct creates liability

08/03/2012
Some employees believe that any sexual comment equals sexual harassment. That’s not true, especially when it involves so-called same-sex harassment. While you shouldn’t ignore such conduct for morale and productivity reasons, rest assured that it generally won’t make your organization liable for a big jury award.