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Discrimination / Harassment

Must we provide a place where our customers can pray?

02/18/2015
Q. A customer was in our sales showroom in the process of purchasing merchandise when he asked his sales person to provide him with space where he could pray while the sales person finalized the paperwork. Our sales person was surprised by the request but ended up providing the customer with an empty office. Do we need to accommodate a similar request in the future? We would, of course, accommodate a prayer request from one of our employees. But we have concerns with leaving a customer unattended in our office area.

Weigh EEOC guidance when considering criminal histories

02/18/2015
In April 2012, the EEOC issued comprehensive guidance addressing the use of an applicants’ criminal history in hiring, which it further clarified in March 2014. The guidance offers details and hypotheticals regarding situations when excluding an applicant based on his or her arrest or conviction record could constitute discrimination based on race or national origin in violation of Title VII.

Workers sue Bloomington restaurant for reverse bias

02/18/2015
Panchero’s Mexican Grill in Bloom­­ing­­ton faces charges it fired white workers who worked as line cooks because of their race. The fired workers claim managers openly stated they preferred white workers for management jobs, but wanted only Mexi­­cans for line positions.

Muslim workers sue Hertz for bias

02/18/2015
The Hertz car rental operation at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport faces charges it discriminated against Mus­­lim employees and harassed them. The employees, who worked cleaning vehicles, claimed managers would routinely walk in on their prayers de­­manding to see the employees’ badges.

Simple transfer could be considered retaliation

02/17/2015

Ordinarily, retaliation re­quires a so-called adverse employment action, such as discharge or demotion. Lesser actions, such as a lateral transfer, don’t count. That is, unless that transfer carries with it serious consequences—such as a dramatically longer commute.

Target shoots self in foot with leaked HR document

02/17/2015
The website Gawker.com has published yet another embarrassing internal document from retail giant Target’s HR shop. This one, leaked by employees, instructs managers on how to talk to the four generations working in Target stores: veterans, baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.

It’s impossible to be biased against unknown disability

02/13/2015
Employees with hidden disabilities must notify their employers if they want ADA protection.

Houston bakery sued for refusing to hire non-Hispanics

02/10/2015
The EEOC alleges that Houston-based Lawler Foods violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by carrying out a pattern and practice of refusing to hire non-Hispanic applicants.

Constitution doesn’t protect workplace cliques

02/10/2015
Public employees have some workplace protections based on constitutional rights to free speech and association. But those rights don’t extend to the right to be part of a co-worker clique.

It could be retaliation: Think twice before forcing transfer that greatly affects commute

02/10/2015

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination, either to their employer or to an agency such as the EEOC, are protected from retaliation. Ordinarily, that re­quires a so-called adverse employment action like discharge or demotion. Lesser actions, such as a lateral transfer, don’t count.