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Discrimination / Harassment

We hear a worker is sick: What can we say?

03/10/2010

Q. We recently heard from a co-worker that an employee (“Mike”) seemed to be having some health issues. Mike hasn’t said anything to his supervisor or anyone else as far as we know. What can we say?

What can we ask about how applicant would get to work?

03/10/2010

Q. In our experience, employees who take public transportation or rely on rides from others are more likely to be tardy to work than those who own their own vehicle. Therefore, before hiring an applicant for employment, we would like to make sure the applicant has a reliable method of transportation to work. Would it be appropriate to inquire, for example, whether the applicant owns a vehicle?

Don’t tolerate employee’s religious threats

03/09/2010

Employees are entitled to broad protection from discrimination based on their religious beliefs and practices. However, that protection has limits. Consider, for example, what may happen if an employee tries to bludgeon—figuratively—her fellow employees with her religious beliefs.

At Akron’s Summa Health, where there’s smoke, there’s no hire

03/09/2010

Akron-based Summa Health Systems has announced it will no longer hire smokers. Applicants who wish to work at one of Summa’s six hospitals must provide a urine specimen to prove they are nicotine-free. Current employees are not affected by the new policy.

Small-group layoff? No need to keep employee just because she’s the oldest

03/09/2010

If you are planning a layoff within a small group of employees, the fact that one of the employees about to lose her job is the oldest of the group won’t be the basis for a successful age discrimination claim. It takes more evidence that age was a motivating factor for the employee to win an age discrimination case. That’s because she can’t use statistics to prove the disparate impact on older workers in such a small group.

Lawsuit looming? Tell all: Keep opinions to yourself

03/09/2010

When employees complain about alleged discrimination, it’s easy for managers and even other co-workers to get angry. Warn everyone to keep their opinions to themselves. Reacting angrily and then punishing those who complain for having a poor attitude is most certainly not a good idea.

Judges’ race and gender may affect bias rulings

03/09/2010

Here’s something to consider if you’re pondering a pretrial settlement: A judge’s race and gender can make a huge difference in the outcome of cases they hear, say two studies featured at a recent American Bar Association conference.

Toledo reaches settlement with former staff–and rehires them

03/09/2010

The Toledo City Council voted to pay $450,000 to settle a race discrimination and wrongful-termination lawsuit brought by two former city employees. That makes for a happy ending to a two-year legal odyssey for Office of Affirmative Action Director Perlean Griffin, and executive director of the city’s Youth Commission Dwayne Moorehead, who served under former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

RIFs and age bias suits: Understand the power of statistics

03/09/2010

If you’re like many employers, you offer severance pay when you have to implement a reduction in force. Never pay severance without getting something in return from the employee, namely a release and waiver of liability. There’s an important catch to understand when you ask for such a release from older workers.

Congress’ employment law agenda: 7 key bills to watch closely

03/08/2010

Now that the Democrats have lost their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, it will be that much more difficult for the Obama administration to make good on many of its pro-employee campaign promises. But this still could be a key year for Democratic plans to revamp our national employment laws. Here are seven key initiatives pending in Congress and what they could mean for your business if they become law.