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Discrimination / Harassment

Commercial pilots claim FAA retirement plan violates state law

06/16/2010
When Congress raised commercial pilots’ mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65, not all pilots were pleased. Pilots who had previously been forced to retire at age 60 weren’t grandfathered into the new system. Now the pilots are seeking back pay and lost wages under state laws and the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Favoring clear accent might not be discrimination

06/16/2010

Students often complain about foreign professors whose accents they have trouble understanding. Those concerns can be a legitimate reason for a university to hire a candidate with better communications skills. That’s true even though accent discrimination can be construed as national-origin discrimination.

Independent review protects against hidden supervisor bias

06/16/2010

Despite your best efforts, a rogue supervisor occasionally slips through. He may harbor discriminatory attitudes that can color his termination and disciplinary decisions. But you can cut that chain by doing a little independent digging into what really happened. Then document your efforts to get both sides of the story.

Don’t tolerate threats, even if they occur during conversation about possible discrimination

06/16/2010

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for complaining. That protection, however, isn’t unlimited. There’s a huge difference, for example, between an employee who calmly reports that he has been discriminated against and someone whose complaints sound more like threats of physical harm.

No policies, no job descriptions, no training: A case study in how not to hire & promote

06/15/2010

Sometimes, the best lessons are learned from the worst examples. That’s often the case with HR management. When employers make big mistakes and have to pay for them in court, other employers with good practices—that maybe need just a little tweaking—can discover what not to do. Here’s a good example.

Rescind firing ASAP to end discrimination suit

06/14/2010
Let’s say a supervisor acts too hastily in firing an employee who has turnaround potential. Or perhaps you learn the employee has a plausible discrimination claim, and you’d rather address the issue right away than risk litigation. If you offer to reinstate the employee right away and she refuses to return, chances are a court won’t conclude you unfairly terminated her in the first place.

Retaliation? Not if bias claim was bogus

06/14/2010
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a jury’s $300,000 retaliation award, reasoning that the complaint that was the basis for the retaliation claim wasn’t based on a good-faith belief that discrimination had occurred.

EEOC wins access to Quantum’s hiring documents

06/14/2010

Bolingbrook-based Quantum Foods faces a national-origin discrimination lawsuit from the EEOC, based on a Hispanic worker’s claim that he was terminated because of his national origin. The EEOC sought hiring records for the facility for the past four years.

Remind hiring managers: What you wear during interview may invite discrimination lawsuit

06/14/2010

Have you reminded managers and supervisors that they should keep their dress professional when conducting interviews? If not, do so. Attire that’s too casual—especially if it features a potentially offensive logo or design—can easily lead to a discrimination lawsuit.

Supreme Court rules on Chicago hiring test

06/14/2010
In a case coming out of Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that each time an employer uses the results of a test to select candidates for promotion creates a new opportunity for employees to challenge that test. That means if a test was invalid, its continued use may spur litigation long after the test was actually administered.