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Discrimination / Harassment

Court: To allege promotion bias, you must have actually applied for the job

04/09/2012
Except in very limited circumstances, an individual must actually apply for a position before he can challenge the decision to hire someone else.

Stop harassment with warning, then follow up to confirm problem was really solved

04/09/2012
Sometimes, all it takes to stop sexual harassment (or behavior that could escalate to harassment) is to tell the individual to cut it out. But you’ll never know if it worked unless you follow up. You should periodically check back with those affected and note their response in your files.

Chase case shows exactly which arguments won’t help defend sexual harassment lawsuit

04/09/2012
Sometimes, seeing how another employer handles an HR problem can give you confidence you’re on the right track. That’s especially true if that other employer messes up really, really badly.

Cincinnati firm settles religious discrimination claim

04/09/2012
Most religious discrimination lawsuits involve allegations of subtle mistakes—e.g., a manager didn’t understand that an em­­ployee had a legitimate need for religious accommodation. But there was nothing subtle about the allegations in a re­­­­cently settled case in­­volving Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp.

Black boss, white worker? Beware reverse bias

04/09/2012

Courts hold white employees who allege racial discrimination to a slightly higher standard than members of other protected classes. The higher standard is met if the white employee can show that the decision-maker is a member of another protected class.

Track, respond to every hostile incident report

04/09/2012

Here’s a tip that may prove in­­valuable if a former employee decides to sue over an alleged hostile work environment: Track and respond to every reported incident. That way, should a lawsuit later allege additional, more severe incidents, you are in a good position to argue they never happened.

Employee sounds threatening during hearing? OK to suspend while you investigate

04/05/2012
Generally, employers shouldn’t react to anything an employee says during an EEOC hearing. That’s because you don’t want to face a retaliation complaint for participating in the hearing. However, there are practical limits to what employers have to tolerate.

EEOC offers best practices to prevent caregiver discrimination

04/03/2012
Record numbers of working adults now care for elderly parents. In 2007, the EEOC issued its Employer Best Prac­­tices for Workers with Caregiving Re­­sponsibilities. Best practices fall into three groups: (1) general, (2) recruiting hiring and promotion and (3) employment terms, conditions and privileges.

FDNY’s discrimination tab could reach $65M

04/03/2012
A federal judge has called for lawyers to serve as “special masters” to decide how to allocate money for minority job applicants who were unfairly denied jobs with the Fire Department of the City of New York. The DOJ filed suit on behalf of minorities who complained they were not hired because of their race.

Disability harassment costs Buffalo store $70,000

04/03/2012

A Family Video store in Buffalo has agreed to settle a disability discrimination suit filed by a former employee who suffers from depression and social anxiety disorder. He claims store management har­assed him because of his condition and then fired him when he complained.