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Discrimination / Harassment

Ban all racial comments—discrimination is discrimination, regardless of particular race

10/09/2009

You need a zero-tolerance policy banning all comments about race or ethnicity. It doesn’t matter whether the race being singled out is a majority or a minority race. The act of harassing someone because of his race is illegal either way. It also doesn’t add one bit to workplace harmony or the bottom line.

OK to terminate pregnant employee sometimes; the PDA merely requires equal treatment

10/09/2009

Some employees believe the Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discharge a pregnant woman for any reason related to the pregnancy. That’s not quite true. The PDA merely requires employers to treat pregnant women no differently than other employees. That may mean discharge for complications associated with pregnancy—under the right circumstances.

Keep resignation letter, exit interview notes—just in case

10/09/2009

Employees often don’t think about suing until after they have quit their jobs and moved on. Then they claim they had no choice but to quit because working conditions were so dreadful. Beat such allegations by keeping resignation letters and any notes taken during exit interviews. They help prove the resignation was voluntary.

Human Rights law now allows fines for employment bias

10/09/2009

New York employers found to have discriminated against employees can be assessed fines up to $50,000 under new terms of the New York Human Rights Law. If a court finds employment discrimination to have been willful, the fines—payable to the state—may be as high as $100,000.

Can we require employees to get flu shots?

10/06/2009

Approximately 3 million doses of the vaccines designed to prevent the H1N1 flu virus—swine flu—shipped last week. Local health authorities are preparing to offer vaccines as early as this week. Can you—should you?—demand that your employees get flu shots?

Playing favorites: How to avoid unintended partiality in decisions, reviews

10/05/2009
Do you “play favorites” with certain employees? Most managers would probably say “no,” but people often harbor unconscious perceptions that can influence day-to-day decision-making and job reviews of the employees they manage. Several factors unrelated to employee performance can impact evaluations conducted by managers.

Age bias nets almost $1 million for El Paso airport food manager

10/05/2009

A U.S. District Court jury in Texas has awarded $992,500 in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee of the company that provides food and beverage services for El Paso International Airport.

Tell employees they must report sexual harassment up chain of command

10/05/2009

Looking for a way to eliminate unfounded sexual harassment claims from former employees? One way is to make sure your sexual harassment policy tells employees to keep taking their harassment claims up the chain of command if they aren’t satisfied with the first response.

Nail down documentation before firing harassment complainant

10/05/2009

Sometimes, employers have to fire employees—even those who have recently filed successful discrimination complaints. Don’t be afraid to do so. You can beat a bogus retaliation claim by making sure you have good, solid documentation to substantiate the firing.

Petro services firm settles reverse discrimination lawsuit

10/05/2009

An Alice-based oil field services company has settled a reverse race discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The commission filed the suit in 2008 on behalf of Bert Yaklin, a white parts-department employee of Coil Tubing Services, which supports the petroleum industry in Texas and Louisiana.