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Discrimination / Harassment

Transgender restroom flap escalates to lawsuit

07/13/2011
When Meggan Summerville had to go to the restroom one day on her job at a Hobby Lobby store in Aurora, she used the ladies’ room—and was reprimanded for it. The problem, as far as her boss was concerned, is that Summerville was born Mark Summer­ville and is transitioning from male to female.

7th Circuit clamps down on deadbeat serial litigant

07/13/2011
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has barred a woman from filing any new civil lawsuits or renewing old ones anywhere in the circuit until she pays fines various courts have already levied.

Employee isn’t completely reliable? OK to consider that when making promotion decisions

07/13/2011

Sometimes, it becomes clear early on that you can’t count on a new employee. He begins missing work or simply isn’t available when you call him in for extra hours. Most supervisors who find themselves in that situation will just call a more reliable employee instead. That’s perfectly fine in most cases.

Can we give paid time off as a bonus to some?

07/11/2011
Q. One of the owners suggested that paid time off for employees should not be a set benefit, but a bonus. Can we just award paid time off as a bonus to some employees and not to others?

Rank, privilege won’t protect predatory harasser

07/06/2011
People in positions of authority sometimes get away with behaving badly. But when the authority figure is a com­pany owner who harasses and assaults a vulnerable employee, you can expect a court to come down hard on the offender.

Sued for bias? Prepare to hand over personnel files

07/06/2011
Personnel records contain information that’s prime material in any employment discrimination lawsuit. An employee who alleges discrimination is entitled to see how she compares with other similarly situated employees, and can do that by reviewing relevant personnel files.

When employee’s partner has difficult pregnancy, be prepared to offer ADA accommodations

07/06/2011
Here’s a novel legal theory of disability law that may spell trouble for some employers: Criticizing and punishing a worker whose partner is experiencing a complicated, disabling pregnancy may be association discrimination under the ADA.

Follow up regularly after bias complaint

07/06/2011

There’s no set standard for the amount of time that must pass between a discrimination complaint and an adverse employment action for it to qualify as retaliation. In fact, federal judges hearing retaliation claims have wide discretion in determining whether something may be retaliation based on timing alone. To be safe, periodically follow up with employees who have complained about bias.

Can you vary pay based on location, duties?

07/05/2011
When employees start grumbling about pay, they’ll sometimes look far afield to find a grievance they can latch onto. Next thing you know, you’re facing a pay discrimination lawsuit. What does federal law say about pay systems based on geographic differences and varying duties?

The HR I.Q. Test: July ’11

07/05/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz.