• HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Satanic hand scanner costs company half a million dollars

01/04/2016
A mining company’s refusal to accommodate an employee’s religious belief has cost it $586,860. A federal jury in Pittsburgh decided that Consol Energy violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it refused an employee’s request to use an alternative method for tracking his hours.

Pennsylvania’s state revenue boss gets probation for harassment

01/04/2016
Albert Forlizzi II has fallen a long way. Now unemployed, the former supervisor at the State Department of Revenue and former mayor of Pen­­brook has been sentenced to four years probation after pleading no contest to charges of indecent assault and official oppression.

Do the right thing, still get sued

01/04/2016
Here’s a reminder that even doing the right thing can mean a lawsuit.

Resignation announced, then a change of heart: Can refusing to allow return be retaliation?

01/04/2016
Here’s a rather novel question being answered for the first time in the 5th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Texas employers. Can the refusal to accept a request to rescind a resignation ever be an adverse em­­ployment action and retaliation for engaging in protected activity?

EEOC expands outreach to immigrant groups

12/28/2015
A recent EEOC settlement may portend more litigation, especially for industries that employ large numbers of immigrants.

Worker older when hired? Then age bias is unlikely

12/24/2015
Do you have an older worker who now alleged age discrimination? If you hired him recently, chances are you can use his age at hire as evidence you didn’t discriminate.

Quickly address allegations of disability discrimination

12/21/2015
If you find out that a supervisor may have treated a disabled worker poorly, fix the problem promptly.

The easy way to stop discrimination lawsuits: Show proof of legit business decisions

12/21/2015
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The best defense against a discrimination lawsuit is a pile of documents showing what you decided and why. For example, if you are sure an employee isn’t qualified for a promotion, document those reasons at the time you make the decision. Don’t wait until he or she sues.

Sexual favoritism must be pervasive

12/21/2015
While under some circumstances, so-called sexual favoritism may be grounds for a winning sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit, it takes more than a single office romance or a marriage between a supervisor and subordinate to support such a claim.

Reprimand may be sufficient if harassment was mild and unlikely to occur again

12/16/2015
You don’t necessarily have to fire someone who committed a single act of sexual harassment—as long as the conduct wasn’t truly outrageous or continuous. Sometimes, it’s fine to issue a reprimand and then monitor the employee to ensure the situation doesn’t recur.