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Retaliation

Disabled employee must be able to perform

04/01/2008
Chrysler hired Loretta Steward in 1997 as an hourly employee at its Viper plant in Detroit. In October 2004, Chrysler placed Steward on medical restrictions because of hand, shoulder and neck pain. The restrictions, which limited her lifting to 10 pounds or less, prevented Steward from performing her job …

Rush to fire or demote pregnant employee often backfires

04/01/2008
When it comes to discrimination claims, timing can be everything. An employer that discharges or demotes a pregnant employee (or one who has just given birth) is asking for a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit. If you have a poorly performing employee who is pregnant or just gave birth, don’t do anything adverse until she has returned to work for some time …

No personal liability in FEHA retaliation cases

04/01/2008
The California Supreme Court has ruled that managers and supervisors shouldn’t be held personally responsible when an employee wins a retaliation claim under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act …

If you need to discipline, verify facts with several sources

04/01/2008
Discipline is always a sensitive issue, especially if the employee in question has filed previous discrimination complaints or a lawsuit. Even if the employer won previous battles, the employee may actually view any discipline as another chance to attack the company—with a retaliation lawsuit. Here’s the best way to handle further discipline …

Indiana court losing patience with inconsistent enforcement of no-Call policies

04/01/2008
To manage your workload, you need to know whether employees will show up for work. To avoid fraudulent call-offs, you may even require a personal call. But unless you are already suspicious—or have had problems with that particular employee abusing the system before—you shouldn’t single out one employee for discipline …

AWOL employee loses case involving absenteeism

04/01/2008
Rosa Luera worked as a medical records clerk and file technician at The Heart Center Medical Group in Fort Wayne. Luera’s attendance continued to decline—until one day, she simply stopped showing up for work. In June 2006, she was terminated. Luera sued, claiming discrimination and retaliation …

Build a legal wall against the flood of retaliation lawsuits

04/01/2008
Retaliation lawsuits are all the rage among employees (and their lawyers) these days. Employees filed 26,663 complaints of retaliation with the EEOC in 2007, up 18% from the previous year. One key reason is the landmark U.S. Supreme Court 2006 ruling in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White …

Retaliation: The legal risk of ‘getting back’ at employees

04/01/2008
Most managers know that it’s against the law to discriminate against employees and applicants because of their race, gender, age, religion or disability. But you may not know that those same federal laws also make it illegal for employers and supervisors to retaliate in any way against employees who voice complaints about on-the-job discrimination.

Vanguard Group settles race discrimination suit

04/01/2008
Malvern-based Vanguard Group has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle an EEOC race discrimination case with Raymond Ross, a former information systems manager. In 2003, Ross filed two EEOC complaints. Vanguard fired him one day after the company received news of his second complaint …

Brace Yourself! Discrimination Claims Up Sharply

03/11/2008
Discrimination complaints in 2007 saw their largest annual increase since the early 1990s, as the EEOC reported double-digit percentage hikes in almost every kind of discrimination charge. Race discrimination continued to lead the field, but for the first time, retaliation was the second most common complaint. Will the new statistics embolden more employees—and their attorneys—to bring charges against you?