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Discrimination / Harassment

Old slurs don’t make hostile environment today

01/31/2012

Some employees never forget an indignity. Years later, they may sue over something unrelated to the original wrong and try to bring the old offense into the case. That sometimes works if their claim alleges a hostile work environment. But if the hostility stopped years ago, chances are the court won’t consider the old claim.

Fort Worth lumber yard hammered for age bias

01/31/2012
The former general manager of Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber in Fort Worth is suing the company for age discrimination, claiming he was fired at the age of 55 and replaced by a 38-year-old man.

Reverse bias suit heats up La Marque Fire Department

01/31/2012
The former chief of the La Marque Fire Department is suing for race discrimination and retaliation after a series of run-ins with the city manager over alleged harassment within the department.

Documented insubordination can often sink employee’s discrimination lawsuit

01/31/2012

Employees who sue for discrimination have to prove they are members of a protected class, were qualified for the position they held, were terminated or subjected to another adverse action and were treated less favorably than employees outside their protected class. Employers that can show the em­­ployee was insubordinate can quickly win such cases.

Remind managers to steer clear of discrimination by association

01/30/2012
The next time you conduct discrimination training, remind supervisors that discriminating against employees because of their spouses’ protected characteristics can be just as legally dangerous as direct discrimination against the employees themselves.

After light bulb goes on, power company settles

01/27/2012
Winston-Salem based Salem Electric Co. has settled charges it discriminated against a black worker when it accused him of being responsible for breaking a number of light fixtures the company was supposed to install.

In Thomasville, prospective principal pockets $25,000

01/27/2012
Thomasville City Schools will pay $25,000 and provide age discrimination training to key personnel under a settlement agreement with a would-be school principal and the EEOC.

You never have to tolerate fights in the workplace

01/27/2012
Violence in the workplace is a harsh reality, but employers must provide a safe work environment. That may mean terminating employees who threaten other employees or get into fights.

Don’t expect losing employee to pay your legal fees

01/27/2012
Typically, employers that lose discrimination lawsuits have to pay the employee’s attorneys’ fees in addition to any jury award. But the opposite isn’t true—employees almost never have to pay their employer’s lawyers unless the case was frivolous.

How to ward off some class-action pay-bias suits: Grant managers limited discretion to set pay

01/27/2012

Do your managers have limited discretion in setting pay? If so, you may have a built-in way to prevent large class-action lawsuits over equal pay. It’s all because of last summer’s big Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart, Inc. v. Dukes.