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Employment Law

How should we report new hires?

11/15/2010
Q. What are an employer’s obligations to report new hires?

7th Circuit rejects ‘cat’s paw’ theory in age discrimination claim

11/15/2010
The recent 7th Circuit decision in Lindsey v. Walgreen Co. addresses the cat’s paw theory of liability in the context of an age discrimination claim. The court held that a supervisor who decided to fire an employee was not the “cat’s paw” because she did not rely solely on the employee’s allegedly biased supervisor.

Take action to separate, investigate as soon as you hear sexual harassment allegations

11/15/2010

Juries are unpredictable, so smart employers do everything they can to avoid a jury trial. That’s especially important when an employee claims sexual harassment. It’s critical to investigate sexual harassment allegations as soon as they surface. Then act fast to separate the involved employees before more harm is done.

EEOC: U.S. Steel blew it with random alcohol testing policy

11/15/2010
The EEOC has sued U.S. Steel—with Illinois operations in Granite City—because the company’s policy of randomly testing probationary employees for alcohol allegedly violates the ADA.

Assigning drivers by race delivers suit to DHL

11/15/2010
DHL Worldwide faces charges it effectively segregated its workforce by assigning black drivers to routes in black neighborhoods, and white drivers to routes in white neighborhoods. The EEOC has filed suit in federal court based on more than 20 discrimination complaints filed by black delivery drivers.

Discrimination or paranoia? Courts can distinguish

11/15/2010
Courts are beginning to get tough on employees who say they had no choice but to quit and then sue for alleged discrimination.

Court: We assume you’re not biased against Americans

11/15/2010
An applicant for an adjunct professor position at a for-profit educational institution has lost her bid to advance a lawsuit alleging discrimination against Americans. The court noted that it takes more than a mere allegation to litigate a suit charging discrimination against the majority.

Use exit interviews to identify patterns of supervisor’s hidden discrimination

11/15/2010

Do you suspect a rogue supervisor is driving away employees belonging to a protected class? If so, begin asking tougher questions during your exit interviews. For example, if several black employees who work under the same supervisor have quit or requested transfers, find out why. The problem may be a biased supervisor …

NLRB: Hair salon must cut out anti-union activities

11/12/2010

The National Labor Relations Board has filed unfair labor practices charges against Edina-based Regis Corp., which operates hair salons nationwide under the Regis Salons, Cost Cutters, Supercuts, MasterCuts and other brands. The NLRB alleges that the company’s CEO intimidated employees into signing a pledge not to join a union.

Set up systems to prevent employee sabotage

11/12/2010

Employees often have legitimate reasons for accusing their employers of retaliation. But sometimes, employees themselves retaliate against a company, either out of malice, or to head off being fired. That’s one reason it pays to try to anticipate employee misfeasance and guard against sabotage.