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Employment Law

No go: Attempts to blame sexual harassment on plaintiff backfire

10/20/2022
One of our primary roles as attorneys is to protect our clients from their worse instincts, like this one: “Let’s file a motion to require a sexual harassment plaintiff to submit to a psychosexual examination.” Umm, no.

EEOC warning: Consider disabilities when enforcing drug tests

10/20/2022
A veteran suffering from PTSD received an offer of employment conditioned upon a negative drug test. The applicant subsequently took the drug test and received a “non-negative” result. The next day, the applicant’s job offer was revoked without explanation.

EEOC sues Red Robin for sexual harassment and retaliation

10/20/2022
Red Robin International, Inc. violated federal law when it allowed a male line cook to sexually harass female employees despite repeated notice of such unlawful behavior and retaliated against them for complaining.

Creating a diverse workplace: Erase the fear

10/20/2022
Creating a diverse workplace re­­mains a top goal for many em­­ployers. But organizations also wonder if those efforts may include unintended consequences like reverse discrimination or other lawsuits.

Global gender gap persists

10/18/2022
According to the 2022 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report, at this rate, it will take 132 years to achieve gender parity.

Office romance and harassment, remotely

10/18/2022
A survey focusing on sexual harassment in the workplace revealed that a whopping 77% of 1,656 respondents had a sexual or romantic relationship with a co-worker at some point.

Reminder: Avoid ageist preference talk

10/13/2022
Rejected or terminated older employees who sue under the ADEA often try to prove age discrimination by offering as evidence management comments with an ageist bent. For example, a CEO who speaks publicly about a preference for youthful applicants or refers to employees as “old timers” or “dinosaurs” may provide the proof a fired older worker needs to win their case.

Consider accommodation request as illness

10/06/2022
Here’s a warning to share with managers and supervisors. An employee with a medical issue may be disabled and entitled to reasonable accommodations but doesn’t have to request one. It’s enough that he lets someone in management know about the condition and requests a change in the workplace.

Overreacting to union talk often backfires

10/06/2022
You may have read about recent high-profile companies and their responses to unionization efforts. Smaller employers also face NLRB unfair labor charges over their handling of unionization efforts.

Replace supervisor to prevent retaliation

10/06/2022
You can stop a harassment case from escalating into a retaliation lawsuit with one simple tactic. Replace the supervisor who allegedly harassed the complaining subordinate and don’t let him or her know anything about the prior complaint.