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Training

Clean up graffiti or risk harassment lawsuit

02/01/2003
For five years, Allen Beach was a marked man at Yellow Freight. Offensive graffiti with his name was scrawled on the walls of dozens of trucks. Some of the milder …

Be upfront about pre-hire training needs

01/01/2003
Does your company mandate training courses before a new hire starts? If so, let job candidates know about these requirements and whether they’ll be paid for the time. …

Don’t raise performance bar solely on workers taking FMLA

01/01/2003
Talk about a multimillion-dollar mistake. In a case that could spell a trend as more baby boomers care for aging parents, an Illinois federal jury awarded $11.65 million to a hospital …

You don’t have to police workplace banter, but don’t let it escalate

12/01/2002
On the production floor, Lisa Ocheltree had to listen to conversations between male co-workers about their sexual exploits, which included vulgar language. The men showed …

Court opens door wider to sexual-orientation lawsuits

11/01/2002
In what gay-rights groups are calling a landmark decision, a federal appeals court has said that homosexuals can use federal civil rights laws to sue for alleged harassment. In the …

Go on offense to establish defense: Train staff in anti-harassment rules

10/01/2002
Maria Gaines, a corrections officer at a New Jersey county jail, claimed that one evening her supervisor grabbed her and kissed her. Then he allegedly joked about it with other high-ranking …

Toughen violence policy to avoid liability

08/01/2002
An off-duty employee confronted a co-worker at his desk and accused him of having an affair with his girlfriend. Two supervisors, suspecting the confrontation might turn violent, escorted both employees to …

Warn supervisors: They can be held personally liable in FMLA cases

06/01/2002
Could your supervisors and managers be held personally liable when they wrongly interpret the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? In many courts, the answer is yes. Recent case: Susan …

Overtime pay doesn’t have to apply to after-hours job training

06/01/2002
Four campus police officers were required to be certified as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) within one year of being hired as probationary police officers. Most of the required classes occurred outside …

Need incentive to brush up anti-discrimination policy? Here it is

06/01/2002
In April, six female employees of a grocery chain won a record $30.6 million from a California jury in a sexual harassment lawsuit, far larger than any previous verdict in an …