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Retaliation

In Minnesota, encourage internal complaint process to protect against whistle-blower lawsuits

10/14/2014

Minnesota employees who believe they were punished for refusing to engage in illegal activities can sue under two distinct but related laws. First, they may have a claim under Minnesota’s Whistleblower Act. Second, they can sue under the state common law for wrongful discharge. Each law has a different standard.

Note time, circumstances of firing decision

10/14/2014

Employees may begin suspecting that their job is in danger before management has a chance to implement a discharge decision. That’s when you can expect them to complain about harassment or discrimination. Or, in Minnesota, they may request a copy of their personnel file to see what’s in it and prepare for a potential lawsuit. Beat that strategy by carefully documenting the discharge process.

Minnesota High Court’s double-trouble decision

10/14/2014
Here’s some disturbing news, courtesy of the Minnesota Supreme Court: When a supervisor threatens an employee with punishment or discharge for filing a workers’ compensation claim, that threat alone is grounds for a lawsuit.

Court: Bullying alone isn’t grounds for lawsuit

10/08/2014
A former employee has tried to advance a new legal theory by suing over alleged workplace bullying. His efforts failed and employers won’t have to worry about another new lawsuit flood.

Be prepared when employees become whistle-blowers

09/26/2014
Legislators are creating new protections for those who report vio­lations to regulatory agencies.

Complaining about unfairness isn’t protected

09/26/2014
Life can be unfair. When an em­­ployee complains about unfairness at work, make sure you document the complaint and make some notes on exactly what she said. If you can show she never mentioned sex, race, age or some other protected characteristic as the underlying reason for the “unfair” treatment she complained about, she hasn’t engaged in “protected activity” and can’t bring a retaliation claim against her employer.

NYC law makes it easier for employees to win

09/05/2014

Not long ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made it harder for em­­ployees to prove retaliation under Title VII anti-discrimination provisions. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, employees need only prove retaliation was an important motive in an adverse employment decision, not the only one.

Company settles OSHA retaliation case for $100,000

09/02/2014
McKees Rocks Industrial Enterprises has agreed to settle a retaliation case brought by a former employee who had complained of safety violations at the freight-handling company’s terminal near Pittsburgh. OSHA contends that the general laborer’s complaints led directly to an inspection by federal safety authorities—and that the man was immediately transferred and eventually fired as a result.

Beware sudden scrutiny after employee voices bias concerns

09/02/2014
Have an adequate but not outstanding employee? Be careful if he engages in some form of protected activity. Sud­denly deciding he’s not good enough may spark a retaliation lawsuit.

The case of the purloined letter: Real resignation or post-affair retaliation?

09/02/2014

Here’s a big reason to ban supervisor/subordinate relationships: When those affairs end, trouble for employers often begins. The subordinate, who may have been a willing participant, may now claim she was being sexually harassed. Or the supervisor may punish the subordinate for cutting off the relationship. Either way, there’s probably a lawsuit coming.