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Employment Law

HR gossip girl: The risk of divulging employees’ secrets

11/09/2010
As an HR professional, you have an open door. And you’re always encouraging employees to ask questions about their benefits. But sometimes, that door needs to be shut … and so should your mouth. As a new lawsuit shows, repeating even the question asked by an employee can trigger a multi-claim lawsuit …

Palm Beach diocese wins grant to fight immigrant bias

11/08/2010
The Catholic Charities Diocese of Palm Beach is one of 13 recipients of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grant funds meant to aid victims of immigration discrimination.

Jacksonville gay advocates seek anti-discrimination ordinance

11/08/2010

Jacksonville is the only major metropolitan area in Florida that does not have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. If gay activists have their way, that will change.

Promptly fixed problem can’t be grounds for legal action

11/08/2010

Managing a workplace isn’t easy and not every assignment or schedule is completely fair. Employees who complain about something that might otherwise be considered an adverse employment action can’t sue if their employer fixes the problem right away.

Wife’s pregnancy complications warrant granting FMLA leave

11/08/2010
Some employers mistakenly believe that fathers aren’t allowed to take time off before their child is born to deal with prenatal complications.

Post job openings, application deadlines to cut down on suits challenging promotions

11/08/2010
Employers that use formal promotion processes probably won’t lose a failure-to-promote lawsuit if the employee in question didn’t even bother applying. But employers that use informal methods may be blindsided by lawsuits alleging discriminatory promotion practices without even having had a chance to review the employee’s qualifications.

Use hotline to receive employee complaints, prove when litigation clock started ticking

11/08/2010

Courts increasingly insist that employees meet deadlines for filing EEOC or other discrimination complaints. The law allows employees just a short period of time to start the lawsuit process after an employer’s adverse decision. Smart employers have systems that precisely track internal complaints. With those in place, employers can more easily argue that the employee waited too long to sue.

Bias, retaliation settlement strips club of $95,000

11/08/2010

The Papermoon Strip Club in Stuart will pay $95,000 to two black doormen and several white employees to settle complaints of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation. According to the EEOC, the doormen were subjected to racial slurs and segregated from white employees. White employees who complained about the discrimination were retaliated against.

It’s sometimes OK to ask about expunged records

11/08/2010
Florida’s criminal court dockets are so overloaded that some relatively minor offenses are never tried. And courts often expunge arrest records so people who were charged but never convicted can move on without the shadow of a criminal record hanging over them, affecting their ability to work. However, in Florida, some employers can still ask about expunged criminal records.

Southern Ohio contractor settles race bias lawsuit

11/08/2010

Mareo R. Allen will get his job back at Mike Enyart & Sons Inc., after the construction firm—located in South Point, near the West Virginia border—agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination suit filed on Allen’s behalf. Allen alleged he was fired in retaliation for complaining about racial harassment while working on a sewer-line installation project.