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Discrimination / Harassment

One incident won’t create a hostile environment

01/11/2019
Employees claiming a hostile work environment must show that a reasonable employee would have found the environment intolerable. One incident isn’t enough.

Joint employer along with other entities? You could be on the hook for discrimination

01/11/2019
Sometimes, an employee has several employers at the same time. Each of those entities may be held liable if the employee suffers unlawful discrimination.

Tell bosses: No badmouthing ex-employees

01/11/2019
Remind supervisors and managers after they have terminated someone: Be careful about how you handle inquiries from prospective employers of your former employee.

New law requires more sexual harassment training

01/11/2019
California was one of the first states to mandate sexual harassment training in the workplace. But the law only mandated regular training for supervisors at large companies. All that changed on Jan. 1, when Senate Bill 1343 went into effect.

Fed contractor settles, was accused of hiring bias

01/07/2019
To settle allegations of systemic hiring discrimination, Coastal International Security, Inc. agreed to pay $409,947 in back wages, plus interest.

Only man on the job? That doesn’t prove discrimination

01/07/2019
Being the only male among a group of female employees is not enough to win a sex discrimination lawsuit.

When employee complains about bias, always investigate before taking any adverse action

01/07/2019
Nothing will doom an employer’s case quite as fast as firing a worker right after she has filed an internal discrimination complaint that was ignored. That virtually guarantees the court will believe there might be some connection between the employee’s complaint and her firing.

No, Title VII doesn’t mention marital status, but it can be the basis of a bias claim

01/07/2019
Title VII does not specifically list marital status as the grounds for a sex discrimination lawsuit. But that doesn’t mean marriage cannot play a role in Title VII sex discrimination cases.

Lawsuit against Fort Worth alleges systemic racism

01/04/2019
The former water director for the city of Fort Worth, who is black, has filed a race discrimination suit seeking $1 million in damages.

Never ignore lawsuits, even ridiculous ones

01/04/2019
Every now and then, an applicant or employee will file a lawsuit that makes no sense. Whatever you do, don’t just ignore it.