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Discrimination / Harassment

Houston jury awards manager almost $1 million for age bias

08/01/2007

A Houston-based seismic technology and equipment company is facing a nearly $1 million jury verdict as the result of a lawsuit brought by one of its former manufacturing managers. Input/Output terminated Gaines Watkins in 2002 when he was 68 years old, claiming the company was making changes that he was “incapable or unwilling” to implement. Watkins sued, claiming he was fired because he didn’t fit the company’s new youthful image …

Evaluating employee performance without creating legal liability

08/01/2007

Performance evaluations are important tools to help employers gauge whether employees are performing at expected levels. They can help organizations spot talent and leadership potential, while identifying areas where employees need extra training and support. Evaluations also can protect employers from frivolous lawsuits filed by employees who claim they’ve been demoted, fired or otherwise unfairly treated when the real reason was poor performance …

Will ‘Bullying Victim’ Become The Next Protected Category?

07/30/2007

Several states are debating legislation that would make “workplace bullying” an illegal practice, like discrimination or harassment. Passage of such bills would increase your liability risks and force you to referee personality disputes. Here’s the status of the legislation, and how your organization should respond …

Restaurant caught in birthday suit, now it must pay

07/30/2007

Religious discrimination can take many forms, including, apparently the forced singing of "Happy Birthday" to that embarrassed-looking guy sitting with his buddies in the booth by the window.

Can we terminate manager who violates nonfraternization policy?

07/20/2007

Q Our company policy prohibits managers from dating subordinates. I have just learned that a manager has violated this rule. May we terminate her employment?

Minimizing the legal risks of workplace romance

07/20/2007
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He’s not your employee! Don’t meddle with contracted service workers

07/20/2007
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No Motive, No Intent—No Problem; It Can Still Be Job Bias

07/19/2007

But be aware that employees sometimes try to show that your otherwise neutral policies have a disparate impact on members of their protected class …

Government Employees Filing Fewer Bias Complaints

07/19/2007

Federal employees filed 16,723 complaints of job discrimination with the EEOC in the past fiscal year, down from more than 18,000 the previous year …

Court: Even ‘Unintended Harassment’ Can Be Illegal

07/19/2007

Try this on for gross: A female employee gains access to her boss’s e-mail account without permission and discovers a vulgar e-mail sent by a male co-worker to the boss. The subject of the e-mail: her genitals. So, does this count as a hostile work environment? …