Former “Prairie Home Companion” host Garrison Keillor alleges his firing from Minnesota Public Radio was completed without a proper investigation of sexual harassment allegations made against him.
Employees or applicants who want to sue an employer for discrimination generally have to file a complaint with the EEOC or the equivalent state administrative agency within 300 days of the alleged discrimination. Otherwise, they lose the right to do so.
The GEO Group, which operates private prison facilities in the United States and several other countries, agreed to pay more than a half million dollars to alleged victims of sexual harassment. In exchange, the EEOC agreed to end efforts to litigate the charges.
A clothing distributor in Manhattan’s Garment District has agreed to pay a former employee $50,000 to settle charges it discriminated against her because of her pregnancy.
It’s not easy to have a lawsuit dismissed just because an employee tries to represent herself in court. Judges often seek to even the playing field by giving second or even third chances to those pro se litigants so they can get their arguments straight—and maybe even to encourage them to hire a lawyer.
Judges would just as soon leave workplace management to the professionals paid to manage workplaces. Rest assured, they don’t want to wade into matters of petty incivility unless a case is particularly egregious.
Document all employment decisions with objective factual information. It’s the best way to win lawsuits filed by employees who believe they have suffered discrimination but can’t provide any specifics to back up their allegations. In court, facts almost always triumph over feelings.