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Discrimination / Harassment

You can’t make employees contribute to charity

12/01/2003

Q. Is it legal for us to strongly encourage our employees to have money withheld from their paychecks to support a charity drive, like the United Way? —L.M., Texas

Job applications: what to include, what to leave out

12/01/2003
Issue: Done right, your job application is a great tool to collect applicant information and communicate key data about your organization. Risk: Unnecessary questions can run you afoul of federal …

Don’t discriminate against short people

12/01/2003
A well-publicized study could raise skepticism (and, potentially, legal complaints) by short people about your pay practices. The study, to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that, in …

It’s OK to discipline employees for public displays of affection

11/01/2003
If employees’ on-site amorous actions are making you or their co-workers uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to tell the lovebirds to withhold their romance for more private, off-premise moments. Courts will likely …

Be prepared to offer rock-solid reasons for pay levels

11/01/2003
Simply said, federal law requires you to provide men and women equal pay for equal work. While some situations dictate that you set pay differentials, say, for seniority, merit or quantity …

Scrutinize true reasons for layoff; then banish all inconsistencies

11/01/2003
No one likes to choose among employees for company-mandated layoffs. But if you’re given this task, research and recommend choices with defensible reasons that you can back up. Don’t manufacture termination …

Federal agencies now must pay for discrimination judgments

11/01/2003
In a lot of ways, the federal government doesn’t have to play by the same rules as private employers. But a new law puts Uncle Sam one step closer to walking …

Gender gap closing a bit, but equal-pay claims still rise

11/01/2003
Reminder to employers: You may have heard that the gender pay gap is closing somewhat. But don’t slack off in your efforts to comply with the Equal Pay Act.
The …

Take ‘same race’ bias complaints seriously

11/01/2003
Issue: Managers sometimes ignore bias claims when the “discriminator” and the “discriminatee” are from the same protected group. Risk: Your organization is liable under bias claims regardless of who makes …

Play it safe: Craft policy banning supervisor/subordinate relationships

11/01/2003
Issue: Personal relationships between employees and their bosses are ripe conditions for legal trouble.
Risk: Any form of quid pro quo (“this for that”) exchange of sexual favors for job …