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Retaliation

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?

Afraid to discipline disabled employee? Just follow the rules

03/01/2008

Sometimes, it may feel like everyone in HR is walking on eggshells, especially when it comes to disciplining employees who say they have disabilities. It doesn’t have to be that way—if you have a comprehensive employee handbook and consistently follow it …

Tell supervisors: No paybacks for reporting harassment

03/01/2008

Even with the best sexual harassment training, it’s hard for some employees to grasp exactly what constitutes sexual harassment and what’s merely horseplay or roughhousing—especially when the behavior is directed at the same sex. But that doesn’t mean that an employee who comes forward with that sort of complaint isn’t engaged in protected activity …

No mandatory arbitration agreement if EEOC case is pending

03/01/2008

If, like many employers, you require arbitration to settle employment disputes instead of allowing costly court fights, be aware of a new danger. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently clarified that an employee’s refusal to sign an arbitration agreement when he already has a pending EEOC complaint is protected activity. Firing such an employee for refusing to sign is retaliation …

Listen for code words when evaluating discrimination complaints

03/01/2008
The law protects employees from retaliation for complaining about alleged job discrimination. That doesn’t mean, however, that employees have to state specifically that their concerns involve sex, race or some other protected characteristic. Something as simple as complaining about “the glass ceiling” may be enough to at least raise the specter of sex discrimination …

No longer adrift: Illinois retaliatory discharge claim applies on water, too

03/01/2008
Illinois law makes it retaliation to fire employees because they report dangerous or illegal activities at work—even if they are otherwise at-will employees who can be fired for any legal reason. That holds true even if those employees work on a river barge otherwise governed by federal admiralty laws …

Must employees receive a warning before termination?

03/01/2008

If employees are at-will workers, you can fire them for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it’s not discriminatory. But, as a new ruling shows, supervisors should resist that quick-trigger urge if that employee recently voiced a discrimination complaint …

Making demands while employee is on disability leave

03/01/2008
Q. We have an employee on disability leave because she had dental reconstructive surgery due to oral cancer. Shortly after her return, her supervisor gave her a deadline to get her backlogged work done. It may not be a realistic deadline. If we discharge her, can we be in legal trouble? — Anonymous …

Counter retaliation claims by tracking PHRC and EEOC filings, internal complaints

03/01/2008
One of the easiest ways for employees to win discrimination cases is to allege that their employers punished them for complaining about alleged discrimination. Often, employees win those retaliation cases even while losing the underlying discrimination complaint. But employers can defeat retaliation charges by showing that the employee never complained in the first place …

Former boxing commish alleges retaliation, says he was fired for speaking out

03/01/2008
Larry Hazzard Sr., former New Jersey Athletic Control Board commissioner, has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against state Attorney General Anne Milgram. Hazzard says he was fired from his position on the board, which oversees boxing in Atlantic City, for reporting legal and safety-related violations …