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  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
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Discrimination / Harassment

Employee making threats? Know how to legally handle explosive situation

03/28/2012

Some employees are simply difficult to manage. They start arguments and may see harassment or discrimination at every turn. Sometimes they cross a line, implying they could get violent. How you handle their complaints can spell the difference between winning and losing a lawsuit.

Greensboro mulls settlement in race discrimination lawsuit

03/23/2012
The city of Greensboro is considering an offer to settle a racial discrimi­­na­­tion lawsuit filed by longtime athletic director Jean Jackson. Jackson, who is black, claims the city regularly promotes white employees to management jobs without openly advertising the positions.

Watch out if your reorg affects only one worker

03/23/2012
If you terminate a current employee during a reorganization process and then hire someone outside the terminated worker’s protected class, you can count on a lawsuit that will go to trial.

Beware new grounds for wrongful-firing suits: Termination in violation of public policy

03/23/2012
Employees and their lawyers are always looking for new reasons to sue. Lately, there’s been an in­­crease in efforts to cast terminations as public-policy violations.

Stay ahead of EEOC complaint calendar by documenting when employee learns he’ll lose job

03/23/2012

Employees who think they have been wrongly fired face tight deadlines for complaining about discrimination. In North Carolina, they have just 180 days to file an EEOC complaint. What’s more, the clock starts ticking the day the employee learns he is informed he will no longer have a job, not from the last day on the job.

Looking for a quick end to harassment case? Never urge the complaining employee to resign

03/23/2012

Sexual harassment victims deserve to have their claims investigated, not ignored. Under no circumstances should you encourage a complaining employee to quit instead of having to endure continued harassment. That’s a sure indication to many juries that the worker was punished for reporting sexual harassment.

Don’t let disability excuse worker misconduct

03/23/2012

Disabled employees sometimes try to use their medical conditions as an excuse for poor behavior. Don’t fall for it. Disability can’t be used to avoid discipline for misconduct.

How does Illinois’ civil union law interact with federal discrimination laws?

03/22/2012
Q. How does the Illinois Religious Freedom Pro­tec­­tion and Civil Union Act affect an employer’s obligations under federal law?

EEOC targets last-chance deals that limit employee rights

03/22/2012
The EEOC has won the first round in a legal battle over whether an em­­ployer may ask workers to waive their rights to file future discrimination claims.

Employee is his own lawyer? Take case seriously, anyway

03/22/2012

If one of your employees sues you and acts as his own attorney, treat the case just as seriously as you would any other lawsuit. Courts have to follow through with the legal process, including reviewing the employer’s evidence.