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California

Tesla zapped with record race bias verdict

10/14/2021

A jury has ordered Tesla, the electric car maker, to pay a contract worker $137 million for the race discrimination and harassment he suffered at the hands of Tesla employees. It is believed to be the largest verdict in U.S. history for an individual claiming race discrimination.

Remove cold-calling from your recruitment toolkit

08/26/2021

In today’s tight labor market, employers are getting creative in their efforts to recruit new employees. But there’s one major recruiting no-no that can spell big trouble. Forget cold-calling cell phones. As a recent case shows, the fines for making unsolicited calls range from $500 to $1,500 per call.

Class-action seeks pay for covid-19 screening time

07/01/2021

Courts routinely rule that employees must be paid for time spent putting on protective gear that keeps them safe at work. Now employees have begun filing lawsuits making the same argument about time spent on coronavirus safety measures.

Consider paying back employees’ PPE costs

06/10/2021

Responding to the coronavirus pandemic added unexpected line items to many employers’ budgets. But what about expenses employees incurred? If you required employees to wear masks, face shields or other personal protective equipment, you should consider reimbursing them.

Monitor all facilities for racist harassment

06/03/2021

It’s hard to monitor everything that goes on when your company has far-flung operations, but it’s essential to keep tabs on—and put a stop to—conduct that could trigger a costly lawsuit. Two joint employers recently learned that lesson the hard way and will pay $2 million for their mistake.

It’s time to scrap pay-secrecy policies

04/01/2021

Traditionally, employers have tried to keep a lid on compensation-related discord by asking employees not to discuss pay. To some extent, that’s just the way it’s always been. But today, no-talk-about-pay rules are under legal assault, challenged for violating the law and helping perpetuate income inequality.

Recruit broadly to ensure diverse applicant pool

01/14/2021

Employees and job applicants can win age discrimination lawsuits if they prove an employer’s personnel practices have a negative disparate impact on older persons.

Act ASAP to prevent customer from harassing

01/14/2021

Title VII doesn’t just outlaw co-worker and supervisor harassment, it also holds employers responsible for preventing and stopping harassment from outside the organization. As much as you don’t want to alienate customers, you must intercede if they harass your employees.

#MeToo era: Say goodbye to token settlements

12/30/2020

Once upon a time, employers could make many sex discrimination and harassment complaints go away with a discreet, relatively small settlement. That’s a fairy tale now.

Ignore harassment complaints, plan on lawsuit

12/17/2020

Some managers mistakenly assume that if they ignore harassment complaints long enough, victims will quit and the problem will disappear. That’s wishful thinking.