• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Beware! Courts giving more leeway to employees who act as their own attorneys

07/01/2008
The employment law cases hardest to handle are often those in which an applicant or employee doesn’t have an attorney. Those employees often file complaints and lawsuits containing what seem like out-of-the-blue allegations. Now federal judges seem to be exacerbating the problem by giving unrepresented litigants every benefit of the doubt …

Former official sues NASCAR for $225 million

07/01/2008
Mauricia Grant, a former NASCAR technical inspector, has filed a $225 million lawsuit against the stock car racing sanctioning body for racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination, saying “life in the garage” was appalling …

Settlement in race case despite employee’s ‘Scandalous’ record

07/01/2008
Boda Plumbing of Monroe has agreed to pay $18,500 to Anthrone Cunningham to settle an EEOC racial discrimination lawsuit. Before settling, Boda Plumbing asked the court to consider that Cunningham has “an extensive criminal record …

State law’s effect on AIDS in the workplace

07/01/2008
Q. Does North Carolina have any laws concerning AIDS in the workplace? …

Discrimination and pay issues when employee has jury duty

07/01/2008
Q. One of our employees has been called for jury duty. What are our obligations? …

Demanding coffee may be gauche, but it’s not harassment

07/01/2008
In a case that illustrates just how sensitive some employees are to perceived sexual stereotypes, a woman hired to work as a receptionist tried to claim that refusing to serve her male bosses coffee was tantamount to engaging in protected activity. Then she alleged retaliation …

Pittsburgh company to pay $100,000 for race discrimination

07/01/2008
Champion Window of Pittsburgh has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of former employee Martell Waite …

How to protect yourself from Internet-Related liability

07/01/2008
The Internet is an invaluable tool in many workplaces, but lately it’s become a somewhat unexpected cause of employment law litigation. Two issues lead the wired way to the courthouse for employers: gathering information about job candidates through web sites and potential liability for what their employees do while using the Internet …

Sex harassment complaints only in writing?

07/01/2008
Q. Our regional manager wants me to revise our sexual harassment policy to require that complaints be in writing. He says this will formalize the procedure and help ensure that only valid complaints are filed. I’m not sure this is a good idea. Is it? …

U.S. citizenship status irrelevant to Title VII claims

07/01/2008
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from discrimination based on national origin, it does not separately protect employees from discrimination based on their citizenship status. What counts is alleged discrimination based on the country of origin, not whether someone is a citizen of the United States or some other country …