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Retaliation

Service members’ jobs protected—If actually employed

05/01/2008
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects members of the armed forces by allowing them to return to their jobs when their service ends. But USERRA has limits, applying only to service members who actually were employees when they went to serve …

Good news: Court nixes class action for unrelated claims

05/01/2008
Good news on the class action front. A federal court has refused to allow a lawsuit to go forward as a class action when it was clear that none of the employees named in the complaint had anything in common except that they worked for the same company …

Despite complaint, unreasonable demands may merit firing

05/01/2008
An employer often bends over backward when an employee says she’s been harassed. It feels compelled to treat the complaining employee with kid gloves to avoid possible retaliation charges. That may be a mistake, especially if the employee becomes disruptive and generally uncooperative …`

Managing the consequences of an affair badly ended

05/01/2008
Ordinarily, a consensual affair carried on outside the workplace, even between a supervisor and a subordinate, won’t mean liability for the employer if the supervisor never threatened or punished the subordinate at work. But once the affair is over, and management finds out about the relationship, it’s critical to make sure the subordinate isn’t unfairly punished …

When you’ve been accused: Handling an EEOC charge

05/01/2008
The events that lead to an EEOC charge are sometimes beyond a company’s control. Whatever your role in the events leading up to the complaint, how your company fares depends largely on how you respond. Don’t blow it—mistakes can be costly. Here are the steps you should follow if and when you receive an EEOC charge …

HR protected—But only if it actually helped file bias claims

05/01/2008
What happens if management wants to fire or otherwise punish an employee for discriminatory reasons, and HR objects? Can an HR professional who is then fired for refusing to play ball proceed to file her own EEOC retaliation or protected-activity claim? …

Camden firefighter sues over racism

04/28/2008
A firefighter who was recently fired by the Camden Fire Department is suing for harassment and retaliation, alleging a captain at Tower Ladder Company 2 “habitually” made threatening racist comments. Shane Streater alleges that he was discharged shortly after he began complaining about the harassment …

Appeals court dumps Wyeth whistle-Blower’s claim

04/28/2008
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a whistle-blower claim by Mark Livingston, a former training director at the Sanford, N.C., facility of the drug maker Wyeth …

It’s up to the employee to explain religious objections

04/25/2008
Good news for employers: You aren’t required to be religiously clairvoyant when it comes to accommodating religious beliefs. Although Title VII says employers must reasonably accommodate religious beliefs that conflict with job requirements, it is the employee who is responsible for explaining exactly how her religion conflicts with some aspect of the job …

Serial complainer? She probably can’t show retaliation

04/25/2008
Employees who file discrimination complaints can claim retaliation if they can show that their employers took actions that would dissuade reasonable employees from complaining in the first place. But employees who constantly file complaints probably won’t be able to show retaliation for all but the most egregious punishments. Here’s why …