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Discrimination / Harassment

Equal Pay for Older Workers

03/09/2008

HR Law 101: When designing compensation plans, employers should take into consideration whether the pay schedules have a negative impact on older workers. Several pay discrimination cases have reached the Supreme Court in recent years …

You don’t have to make perfect decisions—Just honest ones

03/01/2008

When it comes to hiring or promotion decisions, courts will rarely meddle when companies make honest decisions—even if those decisions aren’t the best or most rational ones. Unless there’s some other underlying discriminatory reason, judges generally won’t second-guess even boneheaded decisions …

Union contract doesn’t mean automatic claims arbitration

03/01/2008

If your organization operates in a union environment, much of the discipline you impose will be controlled by a collective bargaining agreement. But that doesn’t always mean that you will be able to avoid court battles over discrimination claims …

‘Just kidding. Can we come back now?’

03/01/2008

Three teenage students suspended for calling a teacher a pedophile on the social networking site Facebook.com have settled their lawsuits with the Three Rivers School District in Cincinnati …

Results of this test: Auto industry to pay $1.6 mil

03/01/2008

The courts look unfavorably on literacy tests for positions that don’t directly require writing skills, as seen by a recent U.S. District Court decision for the Southern District of Ohio. The court awarded $1.6 million to 700 black workers who were screened out of apprenticeship programs at Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corp. and Automotive Components Holdings …

When romance goes bad: Protecting the company from the fallout

03/01/2008

When office romances sour, scorned lovers often use Title VII to allege that their former lover was a sexual harasser. And even if the lovers are happy, workplace romances can cause problems in the office or on the shop floor. If co-workers feel a love affair results in favoritism, the relationship may lead to charges of conflict of interest, harassment, retaliation or discrimination …

Consider hidden costs before cutting retiree benefits

03/01/2008

Thirty-five percent of organizations offered retiree health benefits in 2007, up from 29% the year before, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Even so, benefits analysts say organizations are under pressure to drop the coverage to save money and to lessen a costly liability line on their financial statements …

Watch out! EEOC complaint can mushroom into class action

03/01/2008

If there was ever a reason to involve your attorney in an EEOC investigation, here’s a powerful one: If a lone employee who brings an EEOC complaint claims you favored white employees, he may be able to expand his lawsuit to represent all nonwhite employees who were allegedly discriminated against, not just employees in his particular protected class …

Tell supervisors: No paybacks for reporting harassment

03/01/2008

Even with the best sexual harassment training, it’s hard for some employees to grasp exactly what constitutes sexual harassment and what’s merely horseplay or roughhousing—especially when the behavior is directed at the same sex. But that doesn’t mean that an employee who comes forward with that sort of complaint isn’t engaged in protected activity …

Financial reasons behind layoff? Make certain you can prove it

03/01/2008

When economic downturns lead to layoffs, companies can expect former employees to be bitter—and maybe even angry enough to look for reasons to sue. Before you announce layoffs, document the internal business evaluations that led to the terminations. That way, you will be ready if a lawsuit seemingly comes out of nowhere …