• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Routinely log phone calls coming into HR

12/04/2017

HR professionals should document all phone calls received from applicants or employees and include a brief summary of the outcome. That way, should someone later claim no one answered or returned a phone call, you have a way to counter the allegation.

Require identical hiring process for all applicants

11/30/2017

Informal employment inquiries can sometimes lead to failure-to-hire lawsuits. The best way to avoid such litigation is to set up a clear application process and tell all potential applicants that this is the only way they can apply.

EEOC sues Fresno firm for national origin discrimination

11/29/2017

The EEOC has filed suit against Papé Material Handling in Fresno, alleging the company systematically discriminates against Hispanic employees.

California expands requirements for anti-harassment training

11/29/2017

In October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 396 into law, expanding the subjects that must be covered in California’s mandatory sexual harassment training for supervisors.

Ensure telecommuting rules don’t discriminate

11/28/2017

If you let some employees work from home, allow it for everyone in the same position, under the same terms and conditions. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a discrimination claim—unless you have concrete, work-related reasons for excluding some employees.

35% of women have been sexually harassed at work

11/28/2017

More than one in three American women—35%—say they have been sexually harassed at work, according to a new survey conducted by Marist University for NPR and PBS.

Document all performance review details: Who, why, how much and, especially, when

11/27/2017

It’s not unusual for a disappointed employee to immediately allege some form of discrimination or bring up past discrimination complaints and claim the poor review was retaliation. Smart employers know how to protect against this sort of lawsuit.

Make sure records show consistent discipline

11/27/2017

If an employee breaks your work rules, you should absolutely discipline him. However, make sure that discipline matches punishment you have dished out to other employees for similar infractions—and that you have records to back up your defense.

Keep EEOC at bay with proactive pay audits

11/27/2017

The EEOC has been told to deemphasize collecting compensation data from employers—but that doesn’t mean it stopped aggressively pursuing Equal Pay Act and Title VII sex discrimination in pay cases.

Tired of serial complainer’s constant gripes? Investigate every allegation anyway

11/22/2017

It can be annoying to have to deal with constant unfounded complaints from an employee who seems to take offense at everything. That doesn’t mean you can ignore him.