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Discrimination / Harassment

Look for hiring trends that could signal bias—you might just avoid a huge jury award

05/27/2009

Most applicants who aren’t hired just go away. But sometimes they don’t—and then it’s time to watch out! A rejected applicant can play the discrimination card, possibly costing you an expensive jury award. That’s one good reason to check your hiring practices for hidden bias.

Win harassment claims by keeping good records

05/27/2009

Employers that have anti-harassment policies and clearly communicate them already have a leg up. But the real winners are employers that also carefully track every harassment complaint. They increase their odds of winning harassment cases because they can show whether an employee complained about behavior when it happened.

After 8 years, $1 million ends harassment suit

05/27/2009

The town of Morristown has settled a long-running sexual harassment case for just under $1 million. The case involved IT specialist Ann Marie Spagnola, who alleged her boss, Eric Maurer, subjected her to sexual harassment by exposing her to sexually explicit materials.

N.J. troopers challenge mandatory retirement policy

05/27/2009

Challenging the state’s mandatory retirement policy, 120 New Jersey state troopers have filed a class-action suit. Under current state law, state troopers must retire at age 55.

A deal’s a deal: Good settlements prevent subsequent litigation

05/27/2009

Relatively few lawsuits—including discrimination and employment-related cases—are actually tried in a courtroom. In most cases, the parties reach a private settlement. But what happens if the parties reach a settlement and the employer holds up its end of the bargain, only to have the employee have second thoughts and bring another lawsuit?

Evaluate work before switching to full time

05/27/2009

Some part-timers naturally want to move up to a full-time position. But when they apply and aren’t selected, they may claim they were turned down because of some form of discrimination—even if the real reason was that they weren’t performing well in their part-time roles.

Train managers: Watch out for language that could be construed as derogatory

05/27/2009

Sometimes, people don’t realize the language they are using may be offensive to members of a protected class. That can happen when a term has been in use for decades or even centuries and has become separated from its original meaning or context. Consider a recent case involving usage of the term “tar baby.”

Carefully track all training to ensure all employees have equal access

05/27/2009

Employees are entitled to a workplace free of discrimination. That includes having equal access to training. For example, favoring some employees for training opportunities at the expense of other employees who belong to a protected class may cause a discrimination lawsuit.

Threats at work: You can punish, even if weapon turns out to be a toy

05/27/2009

You probably have workplace rules that ban weapons in the workplace and don’t allow employees into the building with guns or knives. And that rule probably spells out that you will terminate an employee who threatens or displays a weapon at work. But what if the ‘‘weapon’’ turns out to be a toy?

N.C. law protects workers who refuse boss’s sexual advances

05/27/2009

North Carolina’s Equal Employment Practices Act (EEPA) provides that “it is the public policy of this State” to protect employees from discrimination. Until now, it was unclear how far the law went in giving employees the right to directly sue their employers.