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Retaliation

Did serial harasser fare better than the victim at DHS?

06/11/2008
Jacqueline Smith worked as a server in the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) John J. Madden Mental Health Center from 2000 to 2004. In September 2003, a co-worker, Eddie Spivey, allegedly called Smith a sexually explicit name while their supervisor, Bella Ynares, was present …

Is that harassment—Or just a personality clash?

06/10/2008
When an employee complains about alleged discrimination or harassment by a supervisor, take a careful look at what each person says is happening. As the following case shows, sometimes just a poor working relationship—not discrimination—is the source of the problem …

Even workers unharmed by discrimination still could sue

06/06/2008
The floodgates of association discrimination lawsuits are slowly opening. Although the following case ultimately was dismissed because the employee couldn’t show he was harmed or that the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices, it serves as a powerful reminder that lawsuits can come from just about any employee …

6th Circuit rules: Association discrimination now illegal in Ohio

06/06/2008
Employers, beware! Retaliation against a third party who is associated with an employee who engaged in protected activity now can be the basis of a lawsuit in Ohio …

Feuding employees leave employer mired in the middle

06/04/2008
Annie Ludwig began working for the Rochester Psychiatric Center (RPC) as a psychiatric nurse in the Adult Services Unit. Within a month, she was counseled to improve her professional knowledge, supervision and attendance. Otherwise, she would be in danger of losing her job …

There’s pretext, and then there’s not even bothering

06/03/2008
It makes a judge’s job easier when a company just fires workers for complaining, rather than trying to concoct elaborate rationalizations. That’s the tack evidently taken by Pillow Kingdom of Denver …

Public employers, take note: Some employee speech may be protected

05/30/2008
Public employees have some rights that other employees may not. One of those is the right to speak out on matters of public importance without being punished. But that right isn’t available to employees performing their official duties …

Warn supervisors: No angry responses to employee complaints

05/28/2008
One of the best ways to sink a discrimination defense is to come off as defensive, angry and vengeful. That’s why you need to train all supervisors and managers on how to initially handle discrimination complaints. Tell them that no matter how outrageous the complaint, the only proper response is to explain exactly how the employee should report what happened …

New worry serves as reminder to document discipline

05/28/2008
Publicly traded companies have a new worry: Employees can use the whistle-blowing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as another way to get back at employers when they are disciplined or fired. SOX makes it illegal to discipline an employee who complains that the company may be violating the Securities Exchange Act.

Follow These 5 Rules for Documenting HR Decision-Making

05/27/2008
The best way to prevent lawsuits or to get a quick dismissal of unfounded charges is to document every employment decision carefully. Following these five simple rules can convince judges and juries that your HR decision-making is legit, above board and fully in line with the law.