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Discrimination / Harassment

Consider ADA, discrimination, validity issues when using personality tests

11/01/2007

Some employers use personality or psychological tests to screen applicants and employees being considered for jobs or promotions. Proponents say personality tests are an economical way of screening employees. However, critics argue that these tests might not accurately predict an individual’s honesty, integrity or other personality traits. Others say the tests violate the employee’s privacy …

Respond right away to avoid costly judgments

11/01/2007

Train everyone in your organization who might receive legal documents—from the mailroom clerk to the front-desk receptionist—to pass them on to management ASAP. Misplaced pleadings can mean an easy win for the person suing. What’s worse, if you miss important deadlines, you’ll lose any chance you might have had to get the case tossed out …

Savannah’s Berkow dropped from LAPD sex-Discrimination suit

11/01/2007

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Chief Michael Berkow was dropped from the sex-discrimination lawsuit that has dogged him since he took office in Georgia last year …

U.S. Supreme Court tosses out Best Buy discrimination suit

11/01/2007

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a sex-discrimination case brought by a general manager of a Best Buy store in Savannah. The lawsuit accused Best Buy of firing the manager because she complained to a company hotline that her supervisor sexually discriminated against her …

It depends on how you define ‘Overheard’

11/01/2007
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Dismissed pathologists allege discrimination by coroner

11/01/2007

Two white pathologists have sued the Marion County coroner, alleging their terminations were based on race, not merit. The two were terminated eight months into a five-year contract. The coroner’s office gave no reason for the dismissals …

$15,000 convinces employee to drop complaint and leave

11/01/2007

A man who landed a job with the Penn-Harris-Madison (P-H-M) School Corp. after fleeing Hurricane Katrina has agreed to drop his race discrimination complaint in exchange for $15,000. As part of the agreement, the man will resign …

Discrimination claim dropped, retaliation claim goes to jury

11/01/2007

A cosmetology instructor in the state prison system will have her case heard by a jury after she convinced a judge her employer most likely retaliated against her for filing a race discrimination charge with the EEOC …

Will Isiah Thomas verdict open sex harassment floodgates?

11/01/2007

You probably heard about last month’s big $11.6 million sexual harassment verdict against former basketball star and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas. The bad news: Your employees heard about it, too … and it planted a seed in their minds. Will they see your organization’s pockets as the path to a similar windfall? …

Supervisors need to know: don’t penalize complainers

11/01/2007

Sometimes employees file discrimination complaints just to see if their employers will retaliate in some way. Then they hit back with a retaliation claim. It’s a classic trap—and it doesn’t matter if the original complaint was weak. Don’t fall for it. Instead, make sure you treat the employee exactly as you would have if he hadn’t filed the complaint …