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Discrimination / Harassment

Be nice to that ex-Employee who sued! He might come back

07/01/2008
When an employee who was fired or didn’t get a promotion sues, it’s easy to get angry—especially if you don’t believe you or your organization’s supervisors did anything wrong. But that’s a mistake. The better approach is to remain cordial and civil. Here’s why …

You may not even see EEOC complaint until lawsuit hits

07/01/2008
In a new twist on an already complicated HR world, an employer now may find itself served with a federal discrimination lawsuit without any inkling that a case was even brewing. Ordinarily, the employer gets a copy of the employee’s EEOC complaint before anything else happens. But what happens if the EEOC doesn’t let you know about the complaint and the employee goes to court? …

Former worker never should have been hired? You’re not off the hook for discrimination

07/01/2008
Let’s say you learn that a former employee misled you during the hiring process, failing to reveal something so serious that—had you known—would have prevented you from making a job offer in the first place. Now your former employee is suing you for discrimination. Does the new information that came your way kill the lawsuit? …

Bad behavior was the kiss of death for Passaic employee

07/01/2008
Janice Keels joined the Passaic municipal payroll as a judiciary clerk in 1999. Almost immediately, her supervisor noted that she had poor interpersonal skills. For example, Keels complained in May 2000 about a co-worker, saying she would hit her if she had to, and repeating, “I’ll hit her” …

Read EEOC complaint carefully: Employees can’t later expand lawsuit

07/01/2008
Typically, an employment discrimination lawsuit starts with an EEOC complaint. That document is often an employer’s first notice that an employee plans to take an employment dispute to court. Review it thoroughly to determine the scope of the problem. If the employee later tries to add additional discrimination claims, you’ll be prepared to point out that they didn’t appear in the original EEOC allegations …

Loved, lost: Crafting effective workplace dating policies

07/01/2008
Many companies that otherwise permit co-workers to date draw a bright line that prohibits managers from being romantically involved with those who report to them, either directly or indirectly. There are many good reasons for such a prohibition … Consequently, many companies maintain strict nonfraternization policies between supervisors and subordinates.

Repeating sexual harassment training

07/01/2008
Q. How often should a company conduct sexual harassment training for its supervisors? …

List all recent problems when citing reasons for firing

07/01/2008
Even when an employee has been performing poorly for some time, it’s tempting to cite just the latest problem as the reason for termination. But if you list just one firing offense, you run the risk that the employee might prove the discharge reason you used is false. That could give her a chance to take her case to a jury …

Some Sundays off doesn’t require giving every Sunday off

07/01/2008
No doubt you know that you have to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious practices. But how much accommodation must you offer, and must you apply it all the time across the board? If someone says they must attend religious services every Sunday, can you discourage him from taking a job because you can’t guarantee he’ll be off every week? …

Be prepared to justify bonuses based on work performance

07/01/2008
It seems inevitable. Anytime you award variable bonuses to some employees, there’s apt to be some grumbling from those who got less or nothing at all. But if you make sure to base bonus calculations on reasonable and legitimate business reasons, that grumbling won’t turn into a lawsuit you lose …