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Discrimination / Harassment

Traffic tardiness: Be consistent with punishments

02/01/2007

Q. How many times should we allow an employee to be late before giving an oral warning? We have a mandatory 8:30 a.m. production meeting. Everyone knows traffic is out of control, but most employees manage to arrive on time most of the time. Some are consistently late and constantly blame traffic. —J.A., California

Section 1981 bias law doesn’t cover national-origin claims

02/01/2007

Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 has become an increasingly common route for African-Americans to bring to federal court a variety of discrimination claims not covered by Title VII. But claims of national-origin discrimination aren’t allowed under Section 1981…

To defeat bias lawsuits, track all supervisors’ discipline

02/01/2007

Nothing will sink an employee’s discrimination case faster than evidence that you handed out punishment in the exact same doses to other employees as well …

No joking matter: Stuffed monkey costs official his $88,000 job

02/01/2007

Poor taste can be expensive. That’s what a Fort Pierce deputy building official learned after losing his $88,000 job over a two-inch stuffed monkey that he presented at a retiring director’s going-away party …

Printed policies don’t suffice; be vigilant about harassment

02/01/2007

If your business operates in far-flung parts of the country, make sure everyone’s on the same page in following your anti-discrimination policies …

‘He said, she said’: Train staff in conflict resolution

02/01/2007

What’s a manager to do when faced with conflicting accounts of an argument between employees? An important part of that answer is to resolve it quickly, before the dispute spreads like a cancer through your organization …

Victoria’s Secret lawsuit serves as warning about pregnancy bias

02/01/2007

The manager of a Tampa Victoria’s Secret store recently filed a complaint alleging that the store fired her because she was pregnant. The woman alleges that management told her the pregnancy “was going to be a problem” …

Miami DEA officer wins bias suit, claims transfer was retaliation

02/01/2007

A former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) administrator recently won a four-year battle over alleged racial discrimination and retaliation charges against the agency and U.S. Justice Department. He won $85,000 in damages, plus legal fees …

Good news: Liberal definition of retaliation applies only in certain retaliation cases

02/01/2007

In a landmark ruling last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees to sue their employers for retaliation. But employers in Georgia and others in the 11th Circuit can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to this ruling …

Quick fix to discriminatory act may help thwart your legal liability

02/01/2007

If your organization realizes that it made a mistake in failing to hire a member of a protected class (female, minority, disabled, etc.), it’s best to fix the problem as soon as possible and make a job offer. Chances are that will end your liability …