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Employment Law

Supreme Court Opens the Door to More Race-Based Retaliation Lawsuits

05/27/2008
Bad news for employers: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 27 that employees who suffer retaliation after voicing complaints about on-the-job race discrimination can file lawsuits under a little-known Civil War-era law. The result: increased risk of retaliation lawsuits and bigger jury awards.
 

Township of Monroe will stand trial for racial discrimination

05/27/2008
A jury will decide whether a black senior employee of the Township of Monroe in Gloucester County lost his job because of racial bias. Elvis Gooden was appointed the town’s chief financial officer and director of finance in 2001 …

OK to ban the use of your e-Mail system for union organizing

05/27/2008
Employers with unionized work forces, take note: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has made it more difficult for union organizers and members to use your e-mail system for union business—if you adopt the right electronic communications policies …

Warn employees: No FMLA certification, no excused absence

05/23/2008
If employers take a lackadaisical approach to medical certifications, they might be issuing an invitation to abuse FMLA leave. Remind your employees that they must provide FMLA certifications—and that refusing to cooperate will result in the time off being counted as unexcused absences. The consequence: possible termination …

Open-Door policy is good insurance against harassment claims

05/23/2008
You need an open-door policy encouraging employees to come forward with sexual harassment claims. If you show you mean business—by appropriately responding to harassment charges—chances are employees will lose lawsuits if they decline to use the open door and instead suffer sexual harassment in silence …

Track HR decisions to show discipline wasn’t harassment

05/23/2008
The best way to prevent lawsuits or to get a quick dismissal of unfounded charges is to document every employment decision carefully. You and your staff should be able to show exactly when a decision was made, who made it and what the basis for the decision was …

Promotion complaints? Consider firewall for future promotions

05/23/2008
Sometimes, employees who fail to get promoted get it into their heads that they are being discriminated against when that’s simply not the case. Make sure the manager or supervisor who handles such an employee’s next promotion request doesn’t know about the previous complaints—and therefore won’t be in a position to retaliate …

When promotions favor similar employees, prepare to justify

05/23/2008
Have many of your recent promotions gone to members of one sex or some other protected category? If so, take some time now to figure out how that happened. It’s entirely possible that what at first looks like a suspicious “coincidence” that could be misconstrued as discrimination is actually completely innocent …

Appearances do count: Check for hidden bias in terminations

05/23/2008
Before making a final decision on a reorganization or series of RIF terminations, take a close look at any characteristics the employees losing their jobs might share. A set of terminations that affects only members of a protected class is sure to attract attention …

Employee has used all FMLA leave? Assess disability status before terminating

05/23/2008
The FMLA entitles employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with a serious health condition. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should immediately terminate an employee who can’t return to her job right away. That could violate the ADA …