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Discrimination / Harassment

Take every suit seriously–even those in which employee is acting as her own lawyer

12/20/2011
Smart employers never ignore lawsuit filings—even if the allegations sound ridiculous and they’re coming from someone who is acting as her own lawyer.

Start new year with thorough review of your sexual harassment policies and practices

12/20/2011
More than a decade after creating their first sexual harassment policies, some employers may be getting lax. That might be especially true if they haven’t received any complaints. If that rosy scenario sounds like your organization, you might be courting trouble.

EEOC has bone to pick with Asheville steakhouse

12/20/2011
Ryan’s Steakhouse in Asheville has the EEOC sizzling after one of the eatery’s managers berated and eventually fired a 79-year-old worker.

What are the details on the recent amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act?

12/19/2011
Q. Can you tell us how the recent amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act affects employers?

Asian food vendor in hot water over hiring practices

12/19/2011
The Nishimoto Trading Co., which sells Asian foods to various Depart­­ment of Defense facilities, has agreed to pay $400,000 in back wages to women who alleged the company illegally refused to hire them. Nishi­moto operates a facility in Chicago.

Berkeley schools settle religious pilgrim’s bias suit

12/19/2011
Berkeley School District 87 in Chi­­cago’s western suburbs has settled a controversial religious discrimination complaint filed by a Muslim teacher who sought unpaid leave to make a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Have manager who hired also do the firing

12/19/2011
The same individual who hired an employee should also fire that em­­­ployee if necessary. Courts typically reason that no prejudiced person would hire someone and then later fire him because of discrimination, having known all along about the employee’s protected characteristics.

Equal opportunity for women trumps even outrageous reaction to resignation

12/19/2011
A boss’s secret preju­dice won’t support an employee’s sex-bias lawsuit if the employer provides equal opportunities to both men and women. That’s true even if the sexist boss reacts outrageously when the subordinate quits.

Team up for termination meetings; going solo could trigger lawsuit

12/19/2011
When terminating an employee, never meet one-on-one. Instead, make sure at least two company representatives are present at all times. The reason? If you meet alone, you give the employee an opportunity to put words in your mouth—words that may end up as evidence against you in court.

Defend against hidden bias: Follow policies

12/19/2011
HR can and should serve as a check on overzealous supervisors who want to mete out discipline to those they don’t like while ignoring problems with those they favor. Insist that no final termination or disciplinary actions go through without clear documentation that supervisors followed all the rules.