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Discrimination / Harassment

Investigate all allegations of harassment, even those made by poor performers

02/19/2014

Just because an employee is doing a lousy job doesn’t mean she isn’t also being sexually harassed. Ignoring her complaints and focusing strictly on her performance may backfire if you terminate her. A jury may decide that harassment affected her performance or that, even if you fired her for legitimate reasons, she deserves compensation for the har­­ass­­ment she endured.

Warn bosses: Don’t punish for workers’ comp

02/19/2014

Minnesota workers injured on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and can’t be punished for asking for or receiving those benefits. Remind supervisors and ­managers that it’s their job to manage the work­­force despite injuries and that threatening or actually punishing workers who apply for benefits is illegal.

Argument in the workplace isn’t harassment

02/19/2014
Sometimes, employees lose their tempers. That’s unfortunate and you certainly should discourage it. But a loud or tumultuous argument between a supervisor and a subordinate isn’t necessarily grounds for a harassment lawsuit.

Bad bosses? Probably. Were they racist? No

02/18/2014
A federal judge has dismissed race discrimination charges against the New York Post newspaper. While the judge agreed that two black reporters who sued experienced “a raucous work environment” in which bosses “yelled and cursed at reporters,” they were treated no differently than co-workers who aren’t black.

Harassment over interracial relationship spells big trouble

02/18/2014
Don’t let biased notions of who can marry whom poison your workplace.

EEOC can’t sue over nationwide discrimination unless it first investigates

02/18/2014

Employers with locations in multiple states that find themselves responding to an EEOC discrimination complaint sometimes fear the agency won’t limit its investigation to a single complaint or two. Instead, they worry the commission might conduct a wide-ranging investigation and sue over so-called “pattern-and-practices” discrimination, alleging companywide bias.

It’s just a kiss … sealed with a lawsuit

02/18/2014
Even a single incident of overt sexual harassment can become the basis for a sex discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit. Warn all supervisors and managers: Keep your hands off your subordinates—and your lips, too!

Consistency is key when firing for performance

02/14/2014
Poor performance sounds like a legitimate reason to fire someone. That doesn’t mean the employee won’t sue. If that happens, you must be prepared to show that other em­­ployees who held the same position and had similar performance issues were also terminated. If not, you had better be able to explain why.

New EEOC stats: Charges down, retaliation up

02/11/2014
The EEOC received 93,727 charges in fiscal year 2013, a 5.7% decrease compared to 2012. However, retaliation charges grew for the eighth straight year.

Austin P.D. reassignments: Culture change or bias

02/05/2014
The Austin Police Department last year reassigned 19 supervisors from its organized crime division in what officials term an attempt to “change culture.” Thirteen reassigned officers see the move differently, and they are fighting it.