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Discrimination / Harassment

Did zeal to stop discrimination lead to retaliation?

07/08/2009

Ellen Bahr was a supervisor for Capella University and regularly had to evaluate workers in her department. One black woman was performing far worse than the rest of the workers, so Bahr placed her on an improvement plan. Even then, the employee’s work remained below standard …

Could someone who doesn’t work here possibly sue us for discrimination?

07/08/2009

Q. I have heard about a new federal law that makes it possible for a nonemployee to sue our company for discrimination. Is that correct? How could such a claim come up and is there anything we can do about it?

Warn managers: Don’t fall into retaliation trap

07/06/2009

Courts take retaliation seriously. In fact, they may hesitate to say an employer discriminated against an employee based on race, sex, age, disability or some other protected characteristic, but they’ll clamp down hard if they have the slightest suspicion that the employer punished the employee for merely alleging discrimination.

Patience, good records key when employee sues

07/06/2009

When an employee threatens litigation, take your time building the case against him. Make sure you base your decision on solid facts. Double-check to see that there’s no way the employee can claim you singled him out for unfair or inequitable treatment. Then rest easy, knowing that if you’re sued, you can counter the allegations with facts and get the case dismissed quickly.

Public employee sounds off, court weighs in: Letter to editor may not be protected speech

07/06/2009

Government employees are protected from retaliation for speaking out on matters of public importance. That doesn’t mean, however, that every letter to the editor is an exercise in freedom of speech. Indeed, if the letter is about a specific workplace problem between the employee and a supervisor, chances are a court won’t find that to be a First Amendment issue.

Be ready to intervene if supervisor who shows bias needs an attitude adjustment

07/06/2009

In a perfect world, no one would ever utter a slur or make a derogatory comment. But this isn’t a perfect world, and employees come to work with emotional and cultural baggage. It’s up HR to make sure that baggage doesn’t turn into a discrimination lawsuit. 

Choosing employees for promotion: A 6-step legal process

07/06/2009
HR people and managers are aware of the legal dangers in hiring outside applicants. But many forget that internal promotions also carry risks.

‘Difficult’ employee? Don’t assume a disability

07/06/2009

Every HR pro has to deal with especially difficult and argumentative employees now and then. You may believe an employee is having emotional problems—maybe even a diagnosable mental disorder. But don’t mention your suspicions. You would risk being charged with regarding him as disabled, which gives the employee protections under the ADA or state disability-bias law.

Even the best sexual harassment policy is useless without supervisor vigilance

07/06/2009

No sexual harassment policy will protect your company if what is going on in the cubicles or on the shop floor is blatantly offensive. It may not even matter that the offended or harassed employee didn’t follow your complaint policy and report the harassment to upper management. If she tried to talk to her immediate supervisor, that’s enough.

Appeals Court reverses stance; gives a thumbs down to ‘association discrimination’

07/06/2009

In a decision sure to create a buzz, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Title VII does not provide retaliation protection for employees who weren’t involved in protected activity.