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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 …

New risk: Promotion without pay

05/01/2002
After her male supervisor retired, Lynda Hunt was promised a raise and a new job title if she’d take on some of her ex-supervisor’s duties. She agreed and began training, disciplining …

React fast, firmly to harassment; courts will reward your judgment

05/01/2002
A political cover-up usually gets people in bigger trouble than the crime itself. The same is true in the workplace. Trying to sweep employee misbehavior under the rug will only dig …

Root out violent applicants by asking right questions

05/01/2002
Sept. 11 put a new kind of workplace violence on the radar screen, but the threat of verbal and physical attacks by co-workers, customers and spouses is still just as pressing …

Firing harassers is OK, even without formal company policy

04/01/2002
Machine operator Louvenia Hall complained that a co-worker repeatedly harassed her. When the company investigated, it found that Hall had returned the favor by harassing him, too. The company’s solution: Fire …