• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Create a fair and consistent system for dishing out overtime hours

07/05/2010
Do you have a system that allows all employees in the same job category an equal shot at earning overtime pay? If not, consider setting up a fair system for distributing that extra work. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a discrimination lawsuit.

DOJ grant to fight employment bias along Mexican border

07/02/2010
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, who represents the 15th District of Texas in Congress, recently announced that the Justice Department has awarded $59,546 to fund a project aimed at reducing employment discrimination against Texans authorized to work in the United States regardless of their national origin.

Dallas hospital owes $3.6 million for discrimination

07/02/2010
A federal jury in Dallas has awarded Dr. Naiel Nassar more than $3.6 million after he sued the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) at Dallas for religious and race discrimination.

Beware discussions concerning employee longevity

07/02/2010
Casual business conversations can come back to haunt you if some comments imply that you could save money without so many long-term employees.

Good news: Texas Supreme Court says no double claims for sexual harassment

07/02/2010

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a ruling in a closely watched sexual harassment case involving a woman who charged co-worker sexual harassment and common-law failure to supervise. The court said that because the underlying facts were the same for both claims, the woman could sue only for sexual harassment.

When good workers go bad: ‘Employee of year’ award doesn’t give immunity from firing

07/02/2010

Sometimes, for whatever reason, a seemingly great employee makes an awful decision that forces you to terminate her. The key: Be consistent. Letting bad behavior slide because the worker is a stellar performer can trigger a discrimination claim. The best way to show bias played no part in the decision: Document the employee’s unacceptable behavior.

When employee complains, you must investigate — but you can insist on a civilized complaint

07/01/2010

Sure, everyone knows that employees who make a good-faith complaint alleging some form of discrimination are protected from retaliation. But that doesn’t mean that no one can criticize the employee for making the complaint in a way that’s out of line. If he or she is discourteous, you can and should put an end to the disruptive behavior.

Document rationale for all discipline to show it wasn’t a pretext for bias

06/29/2010

If you carefully document disciplinary actions and punish all employees fairly, courts will usually uphold your decisions. That’s because an employee who challenges the reason for her discharge has to show that the reason wasn’t legitimate—that, rather, the rationale was merely a pretext for some form of discrimination. And it takes more than just coincidence to do that.

Document any slippage in employee performance to insulate against later discrimination claims

06/29/2010
If you can show that the employee wasn’t living up to your legitimate expectations, her discrimination case will most likely be dismissed. Legitimate expectations—or adequate performance—aren’t measured just by performance evaluations. That’s especially true if the last performance evaluation occurred months earlier and performance has since changed.

EEOC busts dentist’s chops

06/28/2010
Kinston-based Affordable Care Inc. will pay $150,000 to settle sex and race harassment charges leveled by two female employees of an affiliated dentist in Massachusetts.