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Discrimination / Harassment

No promotion postings? You’re courting a bias suit

02/22/2012
Employers that don’t post internal promotion opportunities are risking unnecessary lawsuits. The fact is, when jobs aren’t posted, employees can sue over the lost opportunity to apply.

Employee acting as her own lawyer? Prepare for a long slog through the legal system

02/22/2012
Ten years of litigation has finally come to an end now that a federal appeals court has tossed the last claims of an employee who acted as her own lawyer.

Court: False harassment complaint is grounds for termination

02/22/2012
A recent state appellate court decision offers clarification about how employers can handle an employee’s false or exaggerated sexual harassment complaints.

Jury awards almost $865,000 to Muslim security guard

02/22/2012
A San Francisco jury has awarded $865,000 to a Muslim security guard who says his co-workers and super­visors called him a terrorist and an al-Qaida member.

Drivers, forklift operators win $17.7 million in age-bias suit

02/22/2012
Six Los Angeles-area soda company employees will share a whopping $17.7 million in damages awarded after they successfully sued the Dr Pepper Snapple Group and related companies for age discrimination.

Employee resigns in the middle of litigation? Courts unlikely to order you to change policies

02/22/2012
When courts find that an employee has been discriminated against, they often order the employer to end the practice or policy that was the basis for the lawsuit. But when the employee voluntarily quits before the case is over, that remedy isn’t available.

Employee has complained about discrimination? He still has to follow all legitimate rules

02/22/2012

After an employee files an EEOC or internal discrimination complaint, it’s natural for him to worry about retaliation. Every move by a supervisor or HR will be filtered through that lens. You need to be on guard against retaliation, too.

Beware harassment suit when boss has affair

02/22/2012
Under California law, a supervisor’s affair (and presumed favoritism) with a subordinate may be grounds for a hostile work environment claim by other subordinates.

Audit hiring patterns to spot hidden age bias

02/22/2012

When employers choose the youngest candidate for a job, older candidates may suspect age bias played a role. That could mean a lawsuit is looming. If a disappointed applicant sues, it won’t help the employer that the overall candidate pool included many older applicants. What matters is who was selected.

Older worker’s pay maxed out? That’s not bias

02/21/2012
If your company has established top pay levels for each job classification, you probably end up giving some long-tenured (and, therefore older) em­­ployees smaller raises than less-experienced employees. But those older workers won’t be able to successfully claim age discrimination, as long as you can explain that the pay difference is due to your clearly documented wage schedules.