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Discrimination / Harassment

With harassment, punishment should fit crime

02/10/2011

Employers sometimes assume they have to harshly punish every incident that violates their sexual harassment policies—which often means termination. That isn’t necessarily so. You can differentiate between various kinds of conduct that fit your definition of harassment, but clearly aren’t equally severe.

Should we forbid supervisors from becoming their subordinates’ friend on Facebook?

02/09/2011
Q. A supervisor recently asked if he was allowed to accept a subordinate’s “friend” request on Facebook. How should we advise our supervisors?

Retaliation long after employee complained? Courts skeptical when years pass without incident

02/09/2011
Judges understand that human emotion plays a part in some personnel actions—especially in cases involving alleged retaliation. They know that if an employer was planning to retaliate for something an employee did, it wouldn’t wait several years to act.

Worry that boss is a bully? Ask subordinates

02/09/2011

You hear a lot about bullies and bullying these days, especially in schools. But bullies grow up. If they’re not stopped, they bring intimidation and violence into the workplace. What’s worse, some of them will become supervisors. If you get wind of a potential bully boss, here’s what to do:

Federal workers have 45 days to complain of bias internally

02/09/2011
Federal employees who allege disability discrimination have to complain to an internal equal employment opportunity officer within 45 days of the alleged discrimination—unless they can show their employer had a discriminatory policy (not practice). But that’s hard to do.

Bias lawsuit alert: If you use job tests, your legal team better include statisticians, too!

02/09/2011

Employment tests generally are a legal minefield. If members of a protected class score significantly lower than other groups, you can expect a lawsuit alleging the test had a disparate impact. And as the following case shows, even court-approved testing procedures are no protection.

Applicant filed for bankruptcy: Can you refuse to hire him?

02/08/2011

Have you ever thought of not hiring an applicant because he or she had previously declared bankruptcy? Maybe you thought that was discriminatory. But a court last month said, “Don’t worry.” Private employers won’t violate the U.S. Bankruptcy Code if they refuse to hire. But firing based on bankruptcy status is another story …

Houston strip bar peels off $60,000 to settle age bias suit

02/07/2011

The adult entertainment business trades on youthful vitality, but there’s no reason an older worker shouldn’t serve drinks in a strip club. So said the EEOC, which just reached a settlement agreement with the owners of Houston’s Cover Girls strip bar after they fired a 56-year-old waitress.

Vague bias claims won’t get far in federal court

02/07/2011
Some former employees think that filing a federal lawsuit is the best way to build up their bank accounts after being fired. Their complaints are often short on detail. Courts are beginning to toss out those complaints.

Court: Bigger workload could constitute retaliation

02/07/2011
When you warn supervisors not to retaliate against employees who complain about alleged discrimination, include this reminder: Seemingly little things—like increasing the employee’s workload or nit-picking about performance issues—can lead to a retaliation lawsuit.