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Discrimination / Harassment

Get legal help with termination agreements

02/09/2010

Call your attorney before offering a severance agreement! A federal trial court in Florida has allowed to go forward a disability discrimination lawsuit from a former employee who left under a negotiated termination agreement largely because the agreement was silent on why the employee was leaving.

Beware bias based on gender stereotyping

02/09/2010

While the federal Civil Rights Act contains no outright prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation, that doesn’t mean employers can get away with discriminating against employees who don’t fit society’s stereotypes about how men and women should look. Sex stereotyping may well be sex discrimination because it is based on notions of what is “feminine” and “masculine.”

First time hiring member of protected class? Have legitimate rationale before terminating

02/09/2010

When you hire someone, you have presumably concluded that the new employee has met at least the minimum requirements for job success. Of course, sometimes that turns out to be wrong. But think twice if you’re tempted to fire an employee who isn’t working out, and that person is your first-ever employee belonging to a particular protected class.

On the other hand, sometimes quick termination works, too

02/09/2010

Sometimes you realize early on that a recent hire is not going to work out. He may have looked good on paper, but isn’t doing well on the job. It may then be time to cut your losses.

Firm skids on ICE, eventually collides with EEOC

02/09/2010

Things started out rocky last November for American Building Maintenance (ABM), a nationwide janitorial services conglomerate, when ICE agents busted it for employing 1,200 undocumented workers. Bad turned to worse in January when the EEOC filed a complaint against ABM, alleging race discrimination against black workers hired last fall through a nonprofit Minneapolis employment agency called Emerge.

What are the basics of complying with the new Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?

02/09/2010

Q. I read the article last month (“Follow 5 steps to make sure GINA doesn’t trip you up”) regarding the recent passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. What should we do to make sure that we are not violating this law?

Is English-only OK? We can’t understand what Hispanic workers are talking about

02/09/2010

Q. We have a number of Spanish-speaking employees. We can’t tell, but we suspect they sometimes make inappropriate comments in Spanish about our clients and other employees. Can we require these employees to speak only English when at work?

Employees filed job-discrimination complaints with EEOC in near-record numbers last year

02/05/2010

If you thought the 2008 spike in employee job discrimination complaints was a one-time blip, think again. During fiscal year 2009, U.S. employees filed 93,277 workplace discrimination charges with the EEOC. That’s the second-highest level ever, just below the FY 2008 record number of 95,402 charges.

Quick settlements encourage more suits; sometimes you have to trust a jury

02/04/2010

Employers are often too eager to settle cases just to get out from under the possibility of a runaway jury. But caving in like that can make you a more tempting target for other employees. If you and your attorneys are convinced you didn’t do anything wrong, it may be best to trust a jury to hear the case and come to the same conclusion.

Beware suspicious timing when taking action against employee undergoing medical treatment

02/03/2010

Here’s another good reason to meticulously track performance: If you end up firing or demoting someone without good documentation, you may end up in court. Bad timing alone could trigger a lawsuit if the employee engaged in some sort of protected activity just before the action.