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Discrimination / Harassment

Theater company to pay $162,000 for sexual harassment

12/24/2008

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has ordered Plum Entertainment, a New Hope theater production company, to pay $162,000 to Sharon Sheridan, a former personal assistant who claimed she was fired for complaining about sexual harassment.

Mayor, police chief square off, but chief takes home $160,000

12/24/2008

The borough of Ellwood City has agreed to pay $160,000 to former police chief Richard McDonald to settle charges of racial discrimination. Almost immediately after being hired in June 2007, McDonald clashed with Mayor Donald Clyde …

Dress, grooming policies should serve bona fide business need

12/24/2008
Employers may generally impose rules requiring employees to adhere to reasonable workplace appearance, grooming and dress standards. But as straightforward as the issue seems to be, grooming standards can create problems for employers.

How can we protect ourselves? We’re worried aging employee will hurt himself

12/24/2008

Q. One of our employees is over age 70 and has recently had memory problems and a car wreck. What (if anything) can we do to protect ourselves from potential workers’ comp claims should he injure himself?

RIF or no RIF: 8 alternatives to consider before laying off staff

12/15/2008

If your organization isn’t already planning or implementing measures to cut labor costs, it may soon have to. News that the United States has been in a recession since December 2007 suggests that HR professionals should prepare to reduce the labor burden—if only as a contingency plan.

Ferret out bias: Ask supervisor whether he’s reported all similar incidents

12/12/2008

You probably rely on your supervisors and managers to give you all the relevant information before you make a disciplinary decision. But what if they don’t? If you don’t ask the right questions, you may inadvertently approve what ends up being a discriminatory action.

Remember, you—not employee—choose ADA accommodation

12/12/2008

Employees who need some form of reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of their jobs may have very specific ideas about the best way to accommodate their needs. But those may not be best for the employer. Employers are free to offer the accommodations they prefer as long as they are effective.

Cut your risk! Have HR make firing decisions

12/11/2008

Here’s another good reason to insist that HR handle all terminations: It’s much harder for employees to sue the company for its supervisors’ alleged harassment or discrimination if the HR office has primary responsibility for discharge decisions. Here’s why …

Beware reverse discrimination risk of overly aggressive minority recruiting

12/11/2008

It goes without saying that employers shouldn’t discriminate based on race, age, sex or other protected characteristics. But favoring people based on those protected characteristics can lead to another problem—reverse discrimination.

You don’t have to guarantee absolutely cordial treatment

12/11/2008

Although we all might wish for perfect harmony at work, that isn’t realistic. As long as there’s no obvious or thinly veiled race, sex or other underlying discrimination at work, it doesn’t matter if a supervisor isn’t very friendly with some employees.