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Discrimination / Harassment

Lack of potty parity may spark sex discrimination claim

06/06/2008
Employers in male-dominated industries, take note: Make sure new female hires who work in a largely male environment have access to restroom facilities that meet women’s needs. Don’t expect women to adopt male restroom habits …

Settling a case? Make sure it spells out specifics if worker will stay employed

06/06/2008
Sometimes, the best thing to do is to settle an employee’s discrimination complaint. That’s especially true if you believe the employee may have a case and deserves a second chance. However, you don’t want the settlement to come back to bite you …

Lakota schools mired in race controversy

06/06/2008
Two employees of the Lakota School District north of Cincinnati resigned after an investigation confirmed they made racially insensitive remarks about black central office officials …

The AG debacle and the e-Mail connection

06/06/2008
Facing threats of impeachment for turning the Office of Attorney General into a “raunchy frat pad,” Marc Dann initially held onto his post. After firing two staffers for sexual harassment, and accepting the resignation of a third for failing to properly supervise them, Dann hoped to put the scandal behind him …

6th Circuit rules: Association discrimination now illegal in Ohio

06/06/2008
Employers, beware! Retaliation against a third party who is associated with an employee who engaged in protected activity now can be the basis of a lawsuit in Ohio …

Interview questions: What not to ask

06/06/2008
Q. Are there specific questions that an employer is prohibited from asking during a job interview? …

I was harassed and I quit! Now can I sue—Or get unemployment?

06/06/2008
Q. I found my working conditions to be intolerable because of the behavior of my male co-workers that I considered to be sexual harassing. I just did not have the energy to complain about the behavior and face the consequences, so I quit without telling my employer about the harassment. I am having trouble finding a new job, and now I am thinking I made a mistake. Will I be able to sue my employer for sexual harassment? Can I obtain unemployment insurance?

Same manager who hired should do the firing

06/04/2008
Discrimination cases are all about motives. That’s especially true when an employee loses his job and alleges that the real reason for his discharge was racism or some other form of bias. One simple way to deflect discrimination charges is to make sure that the same person who made the termination decision also had a direct hand in either the original hiring decision or subsequent promotions …

Make sure handbook spells out maternity leave terms

06/04/2008

Is your employee handbook clear on exactly what constitutes maternity leave and how long it lasts? If you plan to permit just the 12 weeks allowed for pregnancy and childbirth under the FMLA, spell that out. Don’t refer to maternity leave separately and then provide a different week or month count …

Personnel records a mess? Clean them up now

06/04/2008
How carefully do you maintain your company’s personnel files? If they are a mess and don’t include relevant information such as applications, set aside time now to straighten them out! Courts are increasingly ordering employers being sued for discrimination to turn over any arguably related files …