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Retaliation

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 …

Can a guy mess up so bad, it turns out good?

04/25/2008
In 2000, Jeffrey Paich was hired to manage the Nike Factory Store in Mercer. A year later, Debra Sweda became Paich’s supervisor. Over the next four years, Sweda was inundated with complaints about Paich’s temper and his treatment of women …

Appeals court dumps whistle-Blower’s claim

04/23/2008
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a whistle-blower claim by Mark Livingston, former training director at the Sanford vaccine plant of pharmaceuticals giant Wyeth Inc. The company fired Livingston in December 2002 …

Tell supervisors to zip it! Little digs can add up to retaliation

04/22/2008
When supervisors have to work with an employee they view as a troublemaker, they sometimes look for subtle ways to exact punishment. If the so-called troublemaker got that title because he constantly complains that his co-workers are being discriminated against, supervisors should lay off …

FMLA entitles you to request proof worker’s parent has serious health condition

04/21/2008
Do you routinely accept employees’ claims they need FMLA time off to care for an elderly parent? If so, consider a new policy. While it may be easier to approve leave than to challenge it, blanket approvals may prove costly in the long run as more and more “sandwich generation” employees find themselves having to care for both their children and their elderly parents …

Home Depot beats harassment, retaliation charges

04/21/2008
A federal judge in Alabama has dismissed most of the sexual harassment and retaliation charges filed by two former employees against The Home Depot Inc. David Corbitt and Alexander Raya, both long-term employees of the Atlanta-based retailer who rose to store manager positions, alleged that regional HR Manager Leonard Cavaluzzi sexually harassed them in 2005 …

Warn managers: They may be personally liable for discrimination

04/18/2008
If you have trouble persuading managers that they cannot discriminate or harass, here’s ammunition. Tell them that if they participate in any form of discrimination or harassment, it’s their assets on the line. An employee can sue them directly, and they may have to pay damages out of their own bank accounts …

Individuals cannot be held liable for retaliation claims

04/18/2008
The California Supreme Court held in 1998 that individual supervisors and managers are not personally liable for discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Now the court has also ruled that individual supervisors and managers may not be held financially responsible for retaliation claims …

Justify decisions to thwart retaliation bait & switch

04/14/2008
One of the most popular litigation tactics these days starts with an employee filing a discrimination complaint. Then the employee—and her attorneys—sit back and wait to see what happens. If the employer somehow punishes the employee, the attorneys add a second count to the lawsuit: retaliation …