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

Discrimination / Harassment

If employee tacks on emotional distress claim, you can ask for medical records

04/01/2008
Employees and their attorneys often add additional claims to a main discrimination claim as a way to up the ante and push for bigger settlements or larger verdicts. One of those additional claims is often for “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” Before you agree to settle a case involving an emotional distress claim, push to discover whether the supposed damage is legitimate …

Hiring employees through visa programs? Make sure you consider both sexes

04/01/2008
Recruiting foreign workers who come to the United States via work visa programs requires carefully adhering to Title VII and other discrimination laws, just as if you were recruiting U.S. workers. Make sure you (or your representative) aren’t pushing foreign workers into different visa programs based on sex or some other protected characteristic …

Lowe’s sued for sexual harassment

04/01/2008
Three former employees of a Lowe’s store in Longview, Wash., have filed a lawsuit alleging their managers repeatedly sexually harassed and then fired them for complaining about it …

AWOL employee loses case involving absenteeism

04/01/2008
Rosa Luera worked as a medical records clerk and file technician at The Heart Center Medical Group in Fort Wayne. Luera’s attendance continued to decline—until one day, she simply stopped showing up for work. In June 2006, she was terminated. Luera sued, claiming discrimination and retaliation …

New Indiana law means no more crying over expressed milk

04/01/2008
Indiana is about to join 14 other states that already have enacted laws to support breastfeeding women by protecting their right to express milk in the workplace. Starting July 1, 2008, Indiana companies that employ at least 25 workers will be required to provide certain basic facilities for women to express breast milk during the working day …

Maternity leave for small employers

04/01/2008
Q. We are a small not-for-profit organization with eight full-time and 20 (give or take) part-time employees. One of our full-time employees is asking about maternity leave. We currently do not have a policy in place for maternity leave. What are our options? …

From singles to prayer groups: Legal risks of affinity clubs

04/01/2008
Veterans … gays … singles … Christians … new employees. For years, employees with common interests or characteristics have been banding together in lunch or after-work groups—typically with their employers’ blessing and support. These so-called affinity or support groups are a natural extension of workplace diversity. Now, however, more employers are realizing the potential risks of supporting these groups …

Retaliation: The legal risk of ‘getting back’ at employees

04/01/2008
Most managers know that it’s against the law to discriminate against employees and applicants because of their race, gender, age, religion or disability. But you may not know that those same federal laws also make it illegal for employers and supervisors to retaliate in any way against employees who voice complaints about on-the-job discrimination.

Check for not so obvious patterns of race discrimination

04/01/2008
Lots of employees try to blame lost jobs or promotions on discrimination. To do so, they assign themselves into protected classes that may not seem at all obvious. For example, a black employee who obviously hasn’t been discriminated against because he is black may add national origin to the mix …

Automate application system to end failure-to-promote claims

04/01/2008

If you want to avoid needless failure-to-promote claims, create an automatic application process, and make sure managers and all employees understand how the new system works. If everyone knows there is one specific way to apply—indeed, the only way to apply—employees can’t make discrimination claims …