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Retaliation

Beware discipline after return from FMLA leave

10/04/2010

Employees are protected against retaliation for taking FMLA leave. Disciplining an employee who has just returned from such leave is risky, especially if you can’t point to anything truly objective as the reason. Attributing a “poor attitude” to returning employees is a bad idea unless you can provide specific examples of actual work deficiencies.

Denied benefits, former detective suspects foul play

09/24/2010

MaryAnne Cosimano thought she would receive lifetime health benefits when she retired from the Union Township Police Department. But shortly after retiring after 25 years as a Union Township dispatcher, police officer and detective, Cosimano learned she wasn’t entitled to the health benefits after all. Now Cosimano is suing the township, alleging gender discrimination and retaliation.

Duquesne Law revisits the lawsuit that wouldn’t die

09/24/2010
Some employee lawsuits just won’t go away. Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh is still embroiled in litigation it thought had ended three years ago—because a savvy employee has added new claims to an old sex discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.

Failure to interview for promotion can be retaliation

09/24/2010
Employees who complain about alleged discrimination and experience retaliation can sue even if it turns out they don’t have a valid discrimination case. And almost anything that would dissuade someone from complaining in the first place is retaliation.

EEOC looks at last-chance agreements barring lawsuits

09/16/2010

Steven Whitlow, an employee at a Cognis plant in Kankakee, signed a last-chance agreement that forfeited his right to file charges against Cognis with any civil rights commission or government authority. Later, Whitlow rescinded his agreement, stating that he did not want to waive his civil rights. When Cognis terminated him, he filed a complaint with the EEOC.

New laws for a new year: Illinois employers face new credit check, wage payment requirements

09/16/2010

The Illinois General Assembly has been busy, passing legislation that HR professionals need to know about. Specifically: the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which prohibits many Illinois employers from basing hiring, promotion and other employment decisions on the credit histories of employees and job applicants, and the Wage Payment and Collection Act, which protects employees who have not been paid all their wages.

You can insist on investigation confidentiality

09/10/2010

Make it a policy to keep it confidential when conducting internal investigations into discrimination or harassment. That way, rumors and exaggerated claims won’t influence other employees who haven’t yet told investigators their side of the story. Employers that terminate employees for violating that confidentiality needn’t worry that doing so is retaliation, at least according to a recent 11th Circuit decision.

Punishing for accommodation request may be retaliation

09/08/2010
An employee who requests accommodations can sue for retaliation if he can show that his employer punished him for making the request.

Minor annoyances aren’t retaliation, even after employee has lodged complaints

09/08/2010

Some employees are under the mistaken impression that if they complain about anything bad that happens at work, their employer can’t do anything to them, no matter what the circumstances. They think that anything negative the employer does after they complain must be retaliation. Fortunately, that’s not true.

When employee complains of bias or harassment, beware acting in ways that look like retaliation

09/08/2010
An employee who files an EEOC or internal complaint about alleged discrimination or harassment might quite naturally be nervous that her action will result in adverse consequences. That’s why employers have to be certain that any discipline, demotion or changes in working conditions can be justified for valid business reasons before they are implemented.