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Discrimination / Harassment

Train bosses: No gender stereotypes at work

02/03/2022
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins that work rules based on stereotypes of how a woman should look and behave at work amounted to sex discrimination under Title VII. In 2020, the court expanded that protection to include stereotypes related to sexual orientation and transgender status.

Beware liability from ‘equal opportunity harasser’

01/27/2022
Because unlawful harassment must be aimed at a person who belongs to a protected class—based on race or sex, for example—“equal opportunity harassers” may be able to target all kinds of people without creating liability for their employers. But that may be about to change, thanks to a just-filed EEOC lawsuit.

Train bosses to avoid disability bias in hiring

01/27/2022
The EEOC, which enforces many of the nation’s anti-discrimination laws, is aggressively going after employers that put roadblocks in the way of hiring disabled people. Stay ahead of the feds by ensuring hiring managers know how the law protects disabled applicants.

I-9 document bias: Lessons from the Gap case

01/20/2022
When completing I-9 forms, HR professionals often focus too much on being “form enforcers” without realizing they could face discrimination charges for demanding that new hires produce certain documents.

Beware bias suits when raising starting pay

01/20/2022
In this tight labor market, many employers have decided to raise starting pay in order to attract qualified job candidates. However, that can cause unintended consequences if new hires are paid more than current employees, who could decide to sue for some kind of discrimination.

You risk bias lawsuits if you bypass promotion rules

01/12/2022
When considering promoting an employee, carefully track all of the steps in the promotion process, from the initial job announcement to the final decision. Be sure to follow all your promotion procedures. And never let favoritism taint the process. Otherwise, you could be courting a bias lawsuit.

Harassment settlement requires boss accountability

01/06/2022
The EEOC has settled another sexual-harassment case for more than $1 million. It also extracted a novel promise from the employer: It will hold managers accountable for enforcing anti-harassment rules by making compliance one of their performance objectives.

Prepare to pay if class action alleges sex bias

01/06/2022
A huge number of gender-bias and sexual-harassment cases settled for big sums in 2021. Not to be outdone by million-dollar-plus settlements, another big employer threw in the towel to finish out the year.

Cost of an age-biased layoff plan: $2.25 million

12/22/2021
If you are planning to terminate many employees in a reduction in force, be sure to assess the possible adverse impact the RIF might have on older workers—anyone age 40 or older.

EEOC cracks down on pre-hire strength tests

12/22/2021
The EEOC is filing—and winning—lawsuits on behalf of female applicants who complained they lost out on jobs for which they were otherwise qualified because they failed a post-offer, pre-employment strength test.