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Discrimination / Harassment

Employee is own lawyer? Don’t ignore the suit

06/23/2011

With more and more lawyers getting selective about the cases they take, em­ployees sometimes have to go it alone. Don’t ignore these pro se cases. Instead, get expert legal assistance. Often, courts will toss out dubious cases rather quickly.

Want to catch harassment? Go looking for it

06/23/2011
More than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court decided its biggest sexual harassment and hostile work-environment cases, women are still filing and winning sexual harassment lawsuits. Many of them could easily have been prevented had HR and upper-level management taken regular, surprise walks through the factory floor and other work areas.

Check your hiring practices! EEOC takes aim at systemic bias

06/23/2011
As its workload has increased, the EEOC has sought greater funding so it can pursue cases in which employer hiring practices discriminate broadly against members of protected classes. Those practices include using criminal background checks and credit-history checks to screen applicants.

City council goes after clerks, but catches lawsuits instead

06/23/2011
The Westmoreland County town of Jeanette is seeing more than its share of employment litigation. Two city clerks have filed lawsuits, one for age discrimination, the other as a whistle-blower suit.

Different discipline for ‘similar’ offenses? Better be prepared to explain why

06/23/2011
When you’re disciplining an employee, you don’t have to go into every detail about why she is being punished one way when another employee was dealt with differently. However, if the employee ever sues you for discrimination, you had better be prepared to explain the difference later—in court.

Keep it clean (and sober)! Ensure drug testing is uniform and fair

06/23/2011
When you offer employees a chance for drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, make sure you treat them fairly. There’s nothing wrong with telling recovering employees they may be randomly tested for drugs or alcohol without notice. You can even use a “lottery” system that results in some employees being tested more often than others.

Remember: Discord isn’t always retaliation

06/23/2011

You can’t retaliate against employees who complain about alleged discrimination in the workplace. But what’s retaliation? Tense working conditions don’t always fit that bill. There can be many explanations for rising tensions that have nothing to do with a discrimination complaint.

Will PHRA expand to cover sexual orientation?

06/23/2011
Harrisburg Controller Dan Miller is lobbying the Pennsylvania Legislature to expand the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. For Miller, it’s personal.

Better be prepared to justify unequal treatment

06/23/2011
There are times when management feels compelled to treat some employees differently than others. That’s fine—as long as you can explain why and your explanation makes it clear that race, age, sex or some other protected characteristic wasn’t the reason.

Supreme Court’s Walmart ruling makes it harder for workers to bring class actions

06/20/2011
In the most anticipated employment law ruling of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court said a huge lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million female Walmart employees cannot proceed as a single class-action case. Experts say the important ruling will make it more difficult for employees to band together in giant class-action cases against employers. (Walmart v. Dukes)