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Discrimination / Harassment

Unless there’s discipline, it’s not religious discrimination

12/01/2007

Employees whose employers turn down requests for time off to attend religious services can’t just run out and sue for religious discrimination. They have a case only if their employers discipline or discharge them for refusing to comply with the work requirements—for example, by skipping work to attend services …

ELCRA lets employees go back only 3 years to show hostile work environment

12/01/2007

Sometimes, employees who finally come forward and allege they worked in hostile work environments will reach back years—even decades—to catalog the harassment they claim they experienced. The sheer weight of the list may unfairly sway juries. But fortunately for Michigan employers, there is no continuing-violation claim available under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act …

Club manager, golf pro resign in wake of harassment suit

12/01/2007

The general manager resigned and the head golf pro was fired at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada after a former assistant golf pro filed a $100,000 lawsuit over sexual bullying …

Don’t retaliate against harassment victim who calls police

12/01/2007

Here’s a risk you may not have considered: Ignoring a sexual harassment complaint may prompt the alleged victim to get help from outside law enforcement agencies. React inappropriately and you’re likely to have a retaliation suit on your hands …

Discipline tracking system beats discrimination claims

12/01/2007

Can your organization produce concrete evidence backing up every disciplinary decision it’s made? You need a tracking system that does just that. Here’s why …

Track all feedback to improve promotion process

12/01/2007

If your organization has lots of entry-level employees and a practice of promoting from within, you probably face a crowded field when trying to identify the best candidates for promotion. If that entry-level labor pool is also ethnically and racially diverse, you have to make sure your promotion process doesn’t favor one group over another. Here’s one way to pick the best of the best …

If pay varies widely, document rationale for disparity

12/01/2007

Sometimes you have to sweeten the pay pot to attract highly qualified employees. But before you pay wildly dissimilar salaries to people in the same or similar positions, make sure you justify the differences. There are two ways to do that …

Follow the discipline rules in your handbook to defeat discrimination claims

12/01/2007

Your organization’s employee handbook exists for a reason. It serves as a simple and effective way to let employees know what the rules are and what you expect in the way of behavior. If you can show that employees received copies of the handbook and were expected to be familiar with its contents, you have a good shot at defeating any discriminatory discharge claims if you disciplined according to the rules set out in the handbook …

Raymond James sued for discrimination, published denial

12/01/2007

Three former employees of St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial are suing the company, claiming they were paid less, passed over for promotions and denied training and perks because they are women. The lawsuit, which follows an EEOC complaint, also includes claims of sexual harassment and race and age discrimination …

Jury: Noose at work doesn’t prove discrimination occurred

12/01/2007

A noose on a table doesn’t mean the same thing to an all-white jury as it does to a 64-year-old black man, says retired city of Cocoa worker James Daniels. A six-member jury dismissed Daniels’ race discrimination lawsuit against the city, which centered on an incident involving a noose left on a break room table. “Most white folks don’t know what blacks go through,” Daniels said …