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Discrimination / Harassment

Be prepared to explain why new hires earn more than existing staff

03/28/2018
If you find you have to pay more to fill open positions than incumbent employees are currently making, be ready with a good explanation for why new hires command bigger paychecks than staff members who were hired years earlier.

Court decides it doesn’t have to rule on discrimination based on sexual orientation

03/28/2018
A federal court hearing an anti-gay discrimination case in Texas has avoided ruling on whether sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under Title VII. It did so by concluding that the employee didn’t show she had actually experienced sex discrimination.

Post open jobs so everyone knows to apply

03/28/2018
There’s a simple way to prevent lawsuits over missed promotions. Post all internal opportunities and encourage all employees to apply. If you don’t, workers may sue, alleging that the real reason they were denied a promotion was because of some kind of illegal discrimination.

No discrimination without adverse action

03/28/2018
A school counselor who sued because she thought discrimination had cost her a promotion has lost her appeal. Being turned down wasn’t an adverse employment action. And when there’s no adverse action, there can be no discrimination.

How should we handle transgender dress code?

03/22/2018
Q. A new employee refuses to comply with our dress code, which has slightly different requirements for men and women, because the individual is transgender. Though the new employee marked “female” on our employment application, the individual has since told us about identifying as a man. Can we require this employee to follow our dress code for women?

Are we allowed to tell women they can’t wear pants at work?

03/22/2018
Q. I am an HR director for a traditional, conservative company and have run into a new issue. When onboarding employees, I always explain our preferred dress code: we prefer women to wear skirts and dresses with pantyhose to work because many of our senior partners are old-fashioned. A new female employee said she would prefer to wear pants. Can we require her to wear a skirt instead?

Your failure to investigate can be evidence of discriminatory intent

03/22/2018
Deciding not to investigate can backfire badly. Not only could your organization miss an opportunity to right a wrong, but the decision not to investigate may itself be evidence of bias.

Growth displaces legacy staff? Expect lawsuit

03/22/2018
When an organization transitions from a start-up to something bigger, company needs are bound to change. A stellar performer may be left behind. That could trigger a discrimination lawsuit, although it’s likely to fail.

EEOC sues over ‘man’s world’ comment

03/22/2018
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against a kitchen management company over allegations that a manager ignored HR directives and complaints from a female chef who tried to apply for an open position only to be told that professional kitchens were “a man’s world” where women are not welcome.

Keep complete records of complaints to counter last-minute legal claims

03/20/2018

Here’s some good news from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: The court, which covers Minnesota employers, turned down a petition to allow an employee to introduce a new discrimination claim that he failed to clearly outline in his original lawsuit.