Discrimination / Harassment

Making even a few ageist statements can land you in court

11/13/2024

Here’s a reminder that HR needs to train supervisors and managers on ageist attitudes and comments. Even one or two isolated comments that could be viewed as criticism based on an employee’s age can be enough to justify an Age Discrimination in Employment Act lawsuit if there are other indications of favoring the young.

Harassment cost employer $3 million—and the harasser $835,000

10/25/2024

Juries tend to harshly punish employers that ignore harassment complaints and let the abuse continue. But occasionally, a jury decides it’s not enough to punish the employer; they punish the harasser, too.

On the Supreme Court docket: Cases to watch in the ‘24–‘25 term

10/21/2024

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear three important employment-law cases in its 2024–2025 term, which began Oct. 7 and will end in late June 2025.

Tolerate boss’s racist behavior, retaliation? Prepare to pay millions in damages

10/16/2024

If you need a reason to stamp out workplace name-calling, discriminatory work assignments and retaliation, consider the massive punitive-damages award a jury recently granted to an employee who sued because of ongoing racist behavior by a supervisor.

Fed agencies by the numbers for FY 2024

10/15/2024

The EEOC, National Labor Relations Board and OSHA have released new statistics on their activities during federal fiscal year 2024, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024.

Ban numerical goals, quotas from efforts to diversify

10/15/2024

Studies show that employers with diverse workforces outperform homogenous organizations on such important measures as innovation, revenue and profitability. However, employers intent on fostering diversity must do it in a way that doesn’t discriminate against any specific group of applicants or employees.

Disciplining for harassment? Ensure it’s even-handed

10/10/2024

When disciplining workers for harassing co-workers, make sure the punishment isn’t disproportionate and that you can show similarly situated workers were punished the same way.

Employers embrace pay transparency

10/10/2024

New laws in a growing number of jurisdictions now require some form of pay transparency from employers. The House of Representatives has introduced the Pay Transparency Act, which would amend the FLSA.

Gender wage gap widened for first time in two decades

09/30/2024

According to a recent Census Bureau report, working men earned a median $66,790 in 2023, a 3% change from 2022. Wages for working women increased by half as much.

Review policies limiting workplace romantic relationships

09/27/2024

Earlier this year, the EEOC released the final version of its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. One of the report’s most significant conclusions: Employers can lessen the likelihood of workplace sexual harassment by putting up guardrails to regulate workplace romantic and sexual relationships.