Policies / Handbooks

In San Antonio, ‘English-only’ rule exposed even more bias

01/15/2020

Former owners of La Cantera Resort and Spa in San Antonio have agreed to pay more than $2.5 million to settle EEOC national-origin discrimination charges.

Precisely document justification for policies

01/08/2020

Here’s an important reminder when creating or modifying employment policies: Treat every memo as if it will end up as evidence in a lawsuit.

Hairstyles become latest flashpoint for grooming disputes

11/25/2019

Hair is becoming the new battleground over employer expectations and employee compliance. Increasingly, state and local authorities have stepped in, siding with employees who challenge grooming policies.

In #MeToo era, you need a contingency plan

11/14/2019

In the days after McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s termination for having a consensual romantic relationship with a woman at work, details emerged showing that the fast food company had prepared in advance to handle relationships between C-suite executives and subordinates. Your organization needs a contingency plan, too.

Best defense: Consistent rules universally enforced

11/07/2019

When an applicant or employee launches a lawsuit, courts naturally end up scrutinizing your organization and its processes. The best defense: Have consistent rules that you universally apply to everyone.

Ensure policy spells out exactly how employees should report allegations of sexual harassment

11/07/2019

You will probably survive a harassment lawsuit if you trained all employees how to use the policy and followed up with discipline whenever an investigation uncovered harassment.

Clear rules and good records essential

10/24/2019

Employers that have clear rules showing exactly what they expect from employees have a huge leg up if they are sued for discrimination.

Lawsuit over promotion she never applied for

10/24/2019

Usually, employees must actually apply for a job before they can sue for not being promoted. Generally, just telling a supervisor that one is interested in the idea of a promotion isn’t enough, either. However, that doesn’t mean someone always has to formally fill out an application.

You’ll pay if dress code incites harassment

10/21/2019

If you are in the restaurant or entertainment industry and require employees to wear revealing outfits at work, prepare for an unfortunate if entirely predictable consequence: Customers may harass your workers.

Prevention key to cutting harassment liability

08/29/2019

The best way to avoid liability for sexual harassment is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. That’s why it’s so important to educate supervisors on your sexual harassment policy.