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Discrimination / Harassment

Employee thinks he has you over a barrel? If it sounds like extortion, fire him!

05/14/2010

You know that you can’t retaliate against an employee who, in good faith, complains about alleged discrimination. That’s true even if it turns out that he was wrong and no discrimination actually occurred. The key there is “good faith.” It’s not retaliation to fire someone who is simply trying to extort a benefit by making a frivolous complaint.

Beware the cat’s paw: How innocent decisions create liability

05/11/2010

It comes as a bolt out of the blue: The Florida Commission on Human Relations notifies you that there’s “reasonable cause” to believe retaliation was the reason a female employee lost out on a promotion to a male co-worker. But it was a clean promotion process! How did this happen? As it turns out, this is the “cat’s paw” doctrine at work.

BofA, Merrill face sex bias lawsuit following merger

05/11/2010

Bank of America took control of a lot of toxic assets when it purchased brokerage house Merrill Lynch in 2008. Part of the poison was apparently a litigious workforce that couldn’t wait to meet its new co-workers. Two Florida women are part of a sex discrimination lawsuit claiming that the combined companies treat their female financial advisors like “second-class citizens.”

After decade in court, at least the lawyers can claim victory

05/11/2010
Faced with what you consider a meritless employee lawsuit, it’s often tempting to fight it out in court as a matter of principle. But at some point, it’s better to cut your losses and settle. The only parties that benefit from 10-year legal battles are lawyers, as the following case shows.

Caught on tape: Bias evidence against 2 firms

05/11/2010
Nationwide staffing company Administaff has agreed to settle an EEOC religious discrimination lawsuit stemming from an ugly series of incidents that occurred at one of Florida-based cable-TV company Conn-X’s facilities. The allegations created a perfect storm of co-employer liability: video technology plus employee thuggery added up to evidence that practically begged for an out-of-court settlement.

Firing after delivery can still be pregnancy discrimination

05/11/2010
Here’s an employer argument that didn’t work: It couldn’t have been pregnancy discrimination when we fired her because she wasn’t pregnant anymore.

How does the EEOC process work?

05/11/2010
Q. My company just received notice that an employee filed a discrimination charge against us with the EEOC. What happens now?

Does Roto-Rooter send women’s careers down the drain?

05/11/2010

Debra Ring thought her chances for advancement at Roto-Rooter were just a pipe dream, and now she’s suing the national plumbing chain. The Cincinnati woman, who alleges that Roto-Rooter has a “tangible glass ceiling” that limits advancement for women, has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company systematically discriminates against women.

Choose one when suing: bias or wrongful termination

05/11/2010
Good news for employers: When an Ohio employee sues for alleged discrimination under state, federal or local anti-discrimination laws, he can’t also add claims that he was wrongly terminated in violation of public policy. The other laws are his sole remedy.

Courts give employers benefit of doubt: Not all ‘unfair’ treatment is discrimination

05/11/2010
Courts don’t have time, resources or inclination to micromanage employers. Unless an employee can show she has been treated unfairly for an illegal reason like age discrimination, not every “unfair” decision will end in a successful lawsuit. Consider what happened in one recent case.