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Discrimination / Harassment

Common sense prevails: Simply belonging to protected class doesn’t justify bias lawsuit

08/23/2011
Good news if you have ever worried about a lawsuit from an employee who was passed over for a promotion in favor of someone outside the employee’s protected class. While it’s impossible to guarantee you will never be sued, courts generally look favorably on properly run, fair hiring and promotion processes.

Experience isn’t the only valid job qualification

08/23/2011

The job candidate with the most experience might also be the oldest applicant. But that doesn’t mean you always have to pick him. You can use other factors as long as none of them hints at age discrimination. The key is to maintain impeccable records showing how and why you chose the candidate you did.

Handbook make-over: 4 guidelines to follow, 5 policies to include

08/23/2011

Each year, new employment laws go on the books and courts write thousands of decisions interpreting old laws. Yet, year after year, HR pros reach up onto a dusty shelf to hand new employees the same old employee handbook someone wrote years ago. It’s time for a rewrite. Here’s the guidance you need to get started.

The price of a poorly worded want ad: a cool $1 million

08/23/2011
“Recent college graduates” in their “early 20s and 30s” is how ­Cavalier Telephone described—both orally and in writing—their preference for sales candidates. This overt age bias brought the wrath of the EEOC.

NYU will pay $210,000 to settle discrimination charge

08/19/2011
New York University has settled an EEOC national-origin discrimination and harassment suit that alleged a library worker was subjected to racial stereotypes and criticism.

Can we require grooming standards without being guilty of religious bias?

08/18/2011
Q. Our company requires male employees to keep their hair short. However, a recent applicant has stated that his religion does not allow him to cut his hair. Will requiring him to cut his hair to get the job violate federal law?

Make note if employee actually requests arbitration

08/18/2011
Arbitration agreements with onerous terms are sometimes struck down under California contract law. But in some cases, courts will grant arbitration anyway.

Great America park sued for anti-gay harassment

08/18/2011
Two gay customers have filed a 10-count lawsuit against California’s Great America amusement park, alleging sexual harassment, discrimination, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotion distress.

‘Me-too’ evidence can show intent to harass

08/18/2011

Employees who are sexually har­assed at work can feel quite vulnerable, especially if they think they have been singled out for such treatment. When an employee finds out others have been treated just as badly, she may sue. Naturally, the employer’s attorney will try to exclude from evidence any incidents that occurred at other times or to employees other than the plaintiff. But now a California appeals court has permitted such “me-too” evidence.

HR CSI: Conducting a post-mortem of a legal claim

08/16/2011

If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim. Jathan Janove tells you how.