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Discrimination / Harassment

On the emotional edge: 4 tips for responding to employee rants

07/29/2011

Disciplinary and termination meetings are emotionally charged events that carry the potential for nasty words, hurt feelings and even legal troubles. You never know how employees will respond. But you need to be prepared for anything. Four do’s and don’ts to defuse rants and avoid lawsuits:

Section 1983 claim must prove discriminatory agency policy

07/29/2011
Public employees who miss the deadlines for suing under various discrimination laws sometimes get another bite at the litigation apple with a claim under Section 1983. But Section 1983 lawsuits also require public employees to show that their employers had a custom or policy that resulted in discrimination. That’s hard to do.

Need to fire someone with known medical issues? Be prepared to prove your good faith

07/29/2011

Disabled employees or those who need FMLA leave aren’t immune from following work rules. But think carefully before you punish them. It is possible to terminate an employee who has announced he needs time off or an accommodation. How­ever, you must have a legitimate rea­son—and you must be able to demonstrate that the company acted in good faith.

Know Texas deadlines for bias complaints

07/29/2011

Texas employees who claim they have been sexually harassed must file a complaint with the Texas Work­­force Commission Civil Rights Division within 180 days of the harassment. But that time limit doesn’t mean that only those acts of harassment that happened in the immediately preceding 180 days will be considered. In fact, any related acts that may have occurred earlier may be pulled into the litigation as part of a continual violation claim.

Sure, the Galleria is swanky, but is it worth a lawsuit?

07/29/2011
A former manager at Capital Title of Texas has filed suit in federal court in Houston, claiming the company fired her for refusing to color her gray hair. She claims her boss told her to dye her hair because the office was moving from Katy to the Galleria area.

Pregnant worker? Congratulate, don’t speculate

07/29/2011
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: When an employee announces her pregnancy, the only appropriate response is “Con­grat­u­la­tions!” Anything else may end up being used against you later if things don’t go smoothly.

White teachers file bias suit against Philly schools

07/27/2011
Thomas Mifflin Elementary School in Philadelphia has been roiled by news of a lawsuit filed by four white teachers who claim they are victims of race discrimination.

Giving employee the Sabbath day off: When is it an ‘undue hardship’?

07/27/2011

Federal religious discrimination law (Title VII) says employers are obligated to “reasonably accommodate” an employee’s religious belief and practices, unless doing so would cause an “undue hardship” to the organization. In this case, accommodating an employee’s request for every Sabbath day off could effectively invalidate a collective-bargaining seniority system and create a real hardship for the other employees who would have to work instead.

Supreme Court sides with Walmart in massive class-action case

07/26/2011
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court in June rejected class-action status for an estimated 1.5 million female employees who brought gender-discrimination claims against Walmart, the country’s largest private employer. The issue before the High Court wasn’t whether Walmart discriminates against women, but whether the 1.5 million-member class was legitimate.

Be prepared to explain your reasonable rationale for firing protected-class worker

07/26/2011

Hesitant to fire an employee because of his race, religion or other pro­­tected characteristic? Don’t be. Employers with legitimate reasons to discharge someone generally win cases. That’s true even if the firing might appear discriminatory—such as when the sole fired employee happens to belong to a protected class.