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

Discrimination / Harassment

12 manager mistakes that spark lawsuits

05/11/2010

Most lawsuits against employers don’t start with some outrageous injustice. More often, a simple management mistake or a perceived slight starts the snowball of discontent rolling downhill toward the courtroom. Here are 12 of the biggest mistakes managers make. They can all lead to litigation—and kill your credibility in court.

Policy alone isn’t enough: Take the next steps to stamp out harassment

05/10/2010

Sexual harassment cases aren’t going away. Employers that don’t take such harassment seriously put their companies in peril. It isn’t enough to come up with a policy. You must also train employees at every level about that policy and explain where harassment victims can go for help. Then you have to follow through and promptly investigate harassment claims. Finally, you must make sure your response is good enough to end the harassment.

PDA: No special treatment for pregnant workers

05/10/2010
As the name clearly implies, the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) makes it illegal to discriminate against women who are pregnant. But it doesn’t mean pregnant employees are entitled to special privileges. In fact, the PDA merely makes clear that employers must treat pregnant employees the same way they treat every other employee.

Employee is pregnant? You can still discipline or fire if she violates your policies

05/07/2010
Federal courts don’t have much patience for faulty logic. A U.S. District Court in New York recently issued a particularly stinging rebuke to a nurse whose pregnancy discrimination case hinged on the “fallacious syllogism” that “I was fired; I was pregnant when I was fired; therefore, I was fired because I was pregnant.”

Labor on the rise: Review your solicitation & distribution rules

05/06/2010

Unions are stepping up their organizing activity, and smart employers are preparing by making sure their rules on solicitation, distribution and access to private property meet legal requirements. If you don’t have a “no solicitation/no distribution” policy, adopt one now. It can help regulate two types of conduct that unions depend on when trying to organize a workplace.

Former county employees accuse judge of harassment

05/06/2010

Former employees of Brazoria County have filed an EEOC lawsuit claiming that a former judge sexually harassed them and that the county ignored the presence of sexual harassment in the workplace. The two women, previously employed in the county’s juvenile probation department, claim that Judge James Blackstock, who resigned last year over the scandal, has been harassing female county employees since 1993.

Houston issues comprehensive LGBT discrimination order

05/06/2010
Houston Mayor Annise Parker has signed an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) city employees “at every level of municipal government” from discrimination and harassment based on their sexual orientation.

Court nixes Section 1983 protection for age bias cases

05/06/2010
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the ways in which employees can charge their employers with age discrimination. It ruled that the ADEA pre-empts Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act when it comes to age discrimination.

Fair Credit Reporting Act doesn’t apply to complaints that lead to firing

05/06/2010
If you decide not to hire an applicant based on a background check, the applicant has a right to see the information the reporting agency provided. But what about complaints from customers or clients that become the basis for termination? Do those complaints have to be disclosed to the fired employee? Not according to a recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision.

Don’t get nicked by grooming policies that have disparate impact on minorities

05/06/2010

Employers have the right to set grooming policies—within limits. One thing you can’t demand: Grooming practices that may be impossible for some employees to follow. Consider, for example, a rule that forbids facial hair. That could have a disparate impact on black men because of a genetic and permanent skin condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae. The condition makes it impossible to maintain a closely shaved face.