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Discrimination / Harassment

Contractors can sue for bystander retaliation

11/14/2018
If employees say something when they witness sexual harassment, a corporate culture that tolerates sexual harassment will begin to change. But what happens if an independent contractor or temporary worker reports witnessing sexual harassment? Is he or she protected from retaliation?

IBM could be facing two big age bias lawsuits

11/14/2018
Tech giant IBM faces a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of three former employees who claim they were terminated in violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and similar state laws.

EEOC inquiries up 30% in FY 2018

11/13/2018
The EEOC fielded 30% more inquiries from the public in fiscal year 2018, which ended Sept. 30.

One year later, what employers can do to address #MeToo

11/13/2018
#MeToo and concern over sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be a hot topic. To protect your organization, consider taking these actions.

Minor benefits discrepancies can trigger EPA lawsuit

11/13/2018
Make sure all employees receive the same benefits if they perform jobs re­­­quiring the same skill, effort and respon­­­sibility. If men and women doing comparable work are treated differently, that may be an Equal Pay Act violation.

Anti-discrimination laws protect contractors, too

11/13/2018
Employers that use independent contractors must make sure their assignments aren’t racially discriminatory.

Double-check date of EEOC complaints: Employees have just 300 days to file

11/13/2018
Workers often start the litigation process on their own by filing a complaint with the EEOC. Carefully check the date on every EEOC complaint form to see if it’s possible to get a case tossed out because it wasn’t filed in time.

Feel free to consider past discipline when rehiring staff you previously laid off

11/13/2018
When workers apply for other, open positions that they’re at least marginally qualified for, their past disciplinary history may be a good reason to not rehire them.

Choose the best candidate, don’t sweat liability

11/13/2018
When you have several excellent candidates for the same position, it can be difficult to pick which one should get the offer. As long as you document why you picked one of the qualified candidates over the others, chances are you won’t lose a lawsuit.

Nix nixed light duty for pregnant employee

11/13/2018
Nix Health, a hospital in San Antonio, faces charges it violated the Preg­nancy Discrimination Act when it refused a pregnant worker’s request for a light-duty assignment.