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Discrimination / Harassment

Solid reasons for termination? Fire away!

05/06/2019
If you have compelling reasons to terminate someone and have carefully documented them, there’s really no reason to fear pulling the firing trigger. Just be sure to treat all similarly situated employees the same way.

No racial slurs, no matter who utters them

05/06/2019
The use of racial slurs in the workplace continues to create problems for employers. That’s especially true for epithets aimed at black Americans.

Religious liberty bill clears Senate, raises LGBT fears

05/06/2019
A so-called religious liberty bill that would give licensed professionals cover to discriminate against gay patrons if they are acting on their “sincerely held religious beliefs” is one step closer to becoming law.

Belated claim of ethnicity dooms discrimination case

05/06/2019
A police officer who claimed he had been fired because of his supposed Hispanic heritage has lost his case because he didn’t mention the alleged harassment earlier.

Counter employee perception of unfairness by offering the facts of what really happened

05/06/2019
Some employees are suspicious that their co-workers might be getting workplace advantages that they’re missing out on. Fortunately, courts require feelings to be backed up by cold, hard facts showing discrimination.

Protect against future lawsuits by documenting details of every complaint

05/06/2019
Employees who complain about alleged discriminatory practices to their supervisors, HR or anyone else inside the organization in a position of authority are protected from retaliation for doing so. But they have to later show that they actually did at least mention discrimination.

Feel free to call out poor performance: Criticizing workplace mistakes isn’t harassment

05/06/2019
Employees can’t successfully claim that being pushed to do a better job—or even being shamed and ridiculed about their work habits—is anything but an unpleasant consequence of doing a lousy job.

New state lactation accommodation requirements may be coming to California

04/30/2019
California Senate Bill 142 would amend building codes to require new commercial buildings and those undergoing improvements costing over $1 million to include designated lactation spaces for employees.

Beat bogus bias claim with detailed account

04/30/2019
If an employee sues you for discrimination, you will need to put up a vigorous, detailed defense even if you have done nothing wrong. If you can counter the employee’s claim by explaining exactly what happened, that puts the ball back in the employee’s court.

EEOC got employers to pay $505 million last year

04/30/2019
That’s a 27% increase over 2017, even though total charges fell 9%.