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Retaliation

Speech isn’t protected if it’s just part of the job

09/07/2011
Some public employees think they are protected from retaliation anytime they speak out. It’s not true.

Make sure supervisors understand: Do not ­discourage employees from using FMLA

09/02/2011
The FMLA gives eligible em­­ployees an absolute right to take leave and prohibits employers from discouraging employees from taking that leave. Anything that dissuades employees from using FMLA leave is grounds for litigation.

Not every complaint is protected activity

09/01/2011

Some employees seem to believe that any complaint they make about their employer is protected activity. Thus, they may assume that any punishment they experience is retaliation worthy of a lawsuit. Fortunately, that’s not necessarily true.

Punishing worker for loud complaint: Retaliation or legit insubordination penalty?

08/30/2011

Employers obviously can’t punish employees simply because they complain about discrimination. That would be retaliation. But that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate loud, obnoxious or disruptive complaints, no matter their content. That’s simply unacceptable in the workplace … and grounds for legal termination.

Beware denying ‘vacation’ requests that are thinly disguised as FMLA leave

08/26/2011
If an employee asks you to ap­­prove an especially long vacation, and you suspect the reason may be a covered condition under the FMLA, beware automatically rejecting the request. You may risk an FMLA in­ter­ference lawsuit. Plus, any subsequent discipline could be considered retaliation.

How Dodd-Frank’s whistle-blower rules put you in the crosshairs

08/23/2011
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Pro­te­ction Act, passed in the wake of the financial crisis, enacts significant reforms to the financial system. HR professionals need to become familiar with the law’s whistle-blower and anti-retaliation provisions.

New Jersey Supreme Court expands damages for whistle-blowers

08/23/2011
The New Jersey Supreme Court has just made it easier for whistle-blowers to recover back-pay damages. In Donelson v. DuPont Chambers Works, the state’s highest court expanded the definition of “adverse employment action” and held that an employee can recover lost wages if the employer’s retaliation caused a disability that made the employee unable to continue working.

Princeton cop wins $525K retaliation judgment

08/23/2011

A Mercer County Superior Court jury has awarded a former Princeton police officer $450,000 in compensatory damages—plus $75,000 in punitive damages—after it decided the borough retaliated against him for filing a civil rights complaint. Princeton officials say they will appeal the jury’s decision.

HR CSI: Conducting a post-mortem of a legal claim

08/16/2011

If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim. Jathan Janove tells you how.

What not to say: ‘Playing the race card’

08/11/2011

Some comments spell nothing but trouble. That’s why you should ban them from the workplace, at least when spoken by anyone holding a super­visory role. One of the most inflammatory statements: the all-too-common “playing the race card.”