Retaliation

Don’t fear legit discipline after employee complains

12/13/2011

Some employees try to use an EEOC complaint as a shield against criticism and discipline. They hope their employer will think twice before disciplining them for fear of a retaliation suit. Yes, a lawsuit is possible. That doesn’t mean you can ignore poor work.

Use formal application processes to ward off failure-to-hire/promote lawsuits

12/13/2011

You might assume that, before suing for failure to hire, job seekers and employees going for promotions would have to actually apply for the jobs they didn’t get. Unless your company has a robust, easy-to-use posting and application process, you could be wrong.

Sometimes, even harsh judges take pity on employers

12/07/2011

When a jury concluded that a supervisor got a subordinate fired for complaining about race discrimination, it zapped the employer with huge punitive damages in addition to back pay. However, it will only have to pay a fraction of that amount.

When employee complains about bias, take control ASAP to prevent retaliation

12/07/2011

When an employee complains about perceived discrimination, how you treat the worker can greatly affect the outcome if the case reaches court. The best approach: Handle the case professionally, at the HR function level.

Passage of time can kill retaliation claim

12/05/2011

There’s some good news for employers concerned about retaliation after an employee participates in protected activity such as testifying in another employee’s discrimination lawsuit. If a substantial amount of time has passed since the employee’s testimony, any disciplinary action you take probably won’t be enough to form the basis of a retaliation claim.

On to trial for worker advocate’s retaliation claim

12/02/2011

Employees and their lawyers are getting more creative with their lawsuits. Not content to rely on federal anti-discrimination laws, they add claims under state law, too. That increases their chances of making a claim stick.

Only one bite at the apple when it comes to bias cases

11/30/2011

A Texas court has headed off an employee’s attempt to sue twice for the same discrimination claim—once in federal court and again in Texas.

Court: Punishment for helping outsider file harassment complaint isn’t retaliation

11/30/2011

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thompson v. North American Stainless decision said that it was illegal retaliation to punish the fiancé of someone who had complained about sexual harassment. But what about punishing an employee because an outsider has filed sexual harassment charges? According to a recent decision, that isn’t illegal under Title VII.

Warn bosses: Email will be used against you

11/28/2011

You’ve told managers before, now tell ’em again: Email may seem like private communication, but it really isn’t. Anything a manager says in an email may become evidence in a lawsuit.

New hire running into trouble right away? Document problems early and often

11/25/2011

Once in a while, the honeymoon is barely over before a new employee starts to struggle. Since every job has a learning curve, you may hesitate to terminate right away. But you can’t ignore the problems, either.