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Discrimination / Harassment

You can require ability to speak second language

11/01/2010
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the right to sue to individuals who don’t speak a second language. That leaves employers free to require second-language skills for some jobs.

East Texas nursing home gets a pregnancy checkup

11/01/2010

The EEOC has sued an East Texas health care company for firing a housekeeper after learning she was pregnant. The federal agency sued Murphy Healthcare, which operates Frankston Healthcare Center, for firing Myesha Kerr, allegedly because it was concerned that she would be required to perform heavy lifting and be exposed to toxic chemicals.

If reorg cuts jobs, check for inadvertent bias

11/01/2010

Is your organization planning big changes that could result in layoffs? You may have no choice. But a poorly planned and implemented layoff can cost more than it saves if it invites lawsuits. That’s why it’s important to check for potential race bias or other discrimination before making final decisions.

Tell bosses: Never urge workers to retire

11/01/2010
If an older employee has to be terminated, the fact that a boss had hinted that the worker should retire will make it easier to persuade a court that age was the real motivating reason for the discharge.

Rejected Sikh seeks damages

10/29/2010
Tri-County Lexus of Totowa faces religious discrimination charges after it refused to hire a Sikh applicant because he refused to shave his beard.

Roselle employee’s lawsuits double-down against borough

10/29/2010
A former public works department employee has filed sex discrimination charges against the borough of Roselle—and now she’s added a breach-of-contract lawsuit that offers lessons for HR professionals.

Warn managers about dangers of commenting on worker’s age

10/29/2010

Managers and supervisors sometimes do stupid things—such as making statements older workers may interpret as ageist. But ill-chosen words don’t guarantee a successful age discrimination lawsuit. That’s especially true if the comments were made many months before the employee was terminated or otherwise suffered alleged discrimination.

Tell worker when interactive accommodations process ends

10/29/2010

Employees don’t have much time to file ADA or NJLAD disability discrimination claims with the appropriate agency. For failure-to-accommodate claims, the clock starts ticking when the employer ends the interactive reasonable accommodations process. That’s why employers must nail down that date and tell the employee.

3rd Circuit: Ledbetter Fair Pay Act doesn’t apply to failure-to-promote cases

10/29/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for employers worried about lawsuits that may crop up years after a faulty employment decision was made. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the impact of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which says that each paycheck that is lower than it should be because of a past discriminatory act can be the basis of a new lawsuit.

When faced with irrationality, act rationally

10/29/2010

Have you ever run across an irrational employee who thought everyone was out to get him because of bias? You probably listened carefully to his complaints, only to realize there was no real discrimination going on. It would be easy to dismiss the complaint out-of-hand. However, a better approach is to try to fix the “problem.” The reason: Irrational employees often file lawsuits despite ample evidence that nothing is amiss.