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Discrimination / Harassment

OK to consider qualifications that aren’t in job description when setting pay

04/01/2008
Setting compensation for a highly skilled job applicant may mean having to offer more money than currently paid to employees performing the same type of job. But what if a current employee sues, alleging the pay disparity constitutes some form of discrimination? Can you avoid liability? …

No separate emotional distress claims if conduct is covered by IHRA

04/01/2008
Employees and their lawyers are always looking for ways to increase the damages they can extract from employers that make mistakes. Fortunately, they can’t heap additional claims on top of a basic claim made on similar grounds under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). If the IHRA provides a remedy, that’s the only one available for the same basic claim …

Springfield to pay officer $150,000 for ongoing discrimination

04/01/2008
The city of Springfield must pay $150,000 to former patrol officer Rickey Davis, who sued the city for discrimination and retaliation. The U.S. District Court, Central District, in Springfield, denied the city’s appeal for a new trial …

Illinois DOL announces first victory under Equal Pay Act

04/01/2008
The Illinois Department of Labor has won its first case under the state’s Equal Pay Act, which went into effect in 2004. A female clerk for Main Street Liquors in Chicago filed a complaint after she discovered she was earning less than a male clerk for performing the same work …

Caution on mandatory arbitration! Decisions almost impossible to overturn

04/01/2008
Lots of employers insist their employees sign agreements mandating arbitration to resolve employment law disputes. Conventional wisdom suggests that such alternative dispute resolution is less costly, less time-consuming and less risky than a jury trial. But conventional wisdom may be wrong …

Cutting health insurance costs by declining to cover contraception

04/01/2008
Q. Our company is trying to reduce our medical insurance costs. I have been asked whether we could eliminate coverage for contraceptives. If we provide health care that includes a prescription drug benefit, are we required to provide coverage for contraceptives? …

Filing a Michigan discrimination claim?

04/01/2008
Q. My understanding is that an employee must file a charge of sex discrimination with the EEOC or the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) within 180 days. I have been told by the EEOC that it will investigate charges filed within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act. Which is correct? …

Rush to fire or demote pregnant employee often backfires

04/01/2008
When it comes to discrimination claims, timing can be everything. An employer that discharges or demotes a pregnant employee (or one who has just given birth) is asking for a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit. If you have a poorly performing employee who is pregnant or just gave birth, don’t do anything adverse until she has returned to work for some time …

Remedy for discrimination can include neutral references and contact reporting

04/01/2008
Employees who win discrimination lawsuits against their former employers sometimes are entitled to more than money. In the right circumstances, they are entitled to other things to make them “whole” again, including positive references, notice when a prospective employer contacts the former employer and changes to the separation notice …

EEOC sues over strip searches at Winder restaurant

04/01/2008
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit on behalf of three black employees who say they were strip-searched at a Krystal restaurant in Winder after $100 disappeared from a white employee’s cash register. The lawsuit alleges a male worker was allegedly ordered to remove all his clothing in the back of the store …