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Discrimination / Harassment

Light-duty drudgery isn’t grounds for lawsuit

09/21/2011
If you use light-duty positions to bring injured employees back to work, some of their tasks may end up being fairly characterized as make-work drudgery. That doesn’t mean an employee can successfully sue—as long as in the past all similarly situated employees ended up in the same kinds of positions.

L.A. ‘hostess’ dancers sue for wage violations, harassment

09/20/2011
A group of dancers at a Los Angeles “hostess club” are suing for wage-and-hour violations, claiming the owners of Club 907 also subjected them to “exploitative, substandard and degrading working conditions.”

When executive wants to ease into retirement, can we insist on a ‘retirement contract’?

09/16/2011
Q. An executive wants to retire in one year and gradually reduce her schedule until then. Our business needs don’t allow us to have this executive role be part-time on a long-term basis. Can we approve this request on the condition that the executive sign an agreement binding her to retire within one year?

7 steps to help prevent and address workplace bullying

09/16/2011
We all knew schoolyard bullies, and, if we were lucky, they left us alone. Sadly, research indicates many workers are targets of “workyard” bullies. And workplace bullying comes with significant costs.

Electrolux redux: Ramadan schedules still in dispute

09/16/2011
Last year, Electrolux agreed to adjust its break schedule to accommodate Muslim employees working the evening shift at its St. Cloud plant. The EEOC mediated last year’s agreement in a process that was hailed as a model of cooperation between the employer, employees and the federal government. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Planning layoffs? Check age demographics before and after proposed RIF

09/16/2011
Before you implement an involuntary reduction in force, make sure you determine whether you’re vul­­nerable to an age discrimination lawsuit. You can do this by seeing what percentage of the workforce was over age 40 before the planned layoff …

3M to pay $3M to settle age bias suit

09/16/2011
Minnesota-based 3M has agreed to pay $3 million to 290 former em­­ployees to settle an EEOC lawsuit that claimed layoffs in 2003 and 2006 disproportionately targeted workers age 45 and older.

PwC sued for alleged bias, retaliation in Tampa office

09/13/2011
An Arab-American of Moroccan descent has charged consulting giant PwC (formerly Pricewaters­houseCoopers) with discrimination and retaliation after it fired him and allegedly orchestrated his firing from another firm.

Quitting for sex harassment warrants unemployment comp

09/13/2011
Employees who can show they quit their jobs because of unresolved complaints about sexual harassment are entitled to unemployment benefits.

Court: Isolated risqué comments aren’t enough to create a hostile work environment

09/13/2011
Not every inappropriate comment in the workplace is grounds for a lawsuit. Even several isolated comments don’t necessarily make the workplace hostile, especially if they aren’t directed at the complaining employee.