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Discrimination / Harassment

Lexington diner pays to settle harassment and retaliation suit

07/30/2013
The Silver Diner in Lexington will pay $25,000 to a former waitress to settle claims she was sexually har­­assed by one of the diner’s owners. She claimed when she complained to other owners, her hours were cut. Ulti­­mately, the owners tired of her complaints and terminated her.

Consistent equal treatment trumps most retaliation claims

07/30/2013
Make sure you evenly apply your leave policies to all employees.

Cull interview lists to ensure you include the most-qualified candidates

07/30/2013
Before you begin talking to candidates, make sure everyone you selected for an interview opportunity is among the best qualified, and that you haven’t passed over anyone who is obviously as well-qualified as other applicants. That’s the best way to avoid a needless failure-to-hire suit.

Concord Chick-fil-A sued for half-baked hiring approach

07/30/2013
The EEOC is suing a Chick-fil-A res­­tau­­rant in Concord, alleging violations of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act that almost any savvy HR professional would have known to avoid.

Don’t even try to argue slur wasn’t offensive

07/30/2013
Here’s a hint for defending your company in a discrimination case: Don’t even think about arguing that an obviously offensive ethnic slur is ambiguous or not offensive at all. It won’t get you very far with most judges.

Target misses mark with multicultural training

07/29/2013
Minneapolis-based retailer Target is scrambling to explain a training document that surfaced at one of its Northern California distribution centers. The document purports to tell supervisors how to interact with Hispanic employees—and in the process betrays some offensive stereotypes.

How to avoid being sued for caregiver discrimination

07/26/2013

While family responsibility discrimination (FRD) is not a new protected category (and no federal law expressly prohibits employment discrimination against caregivers), a number of laws provide protection for employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Document every discharge just in case there’s a lawsuit

07/26/2013

You might assume that someone won’t sue if they’ve been accused of sexual harassment by several employees and cited for poor performance. You could be wrong. That’s why you should document every discharge decision as if you expect a lawsuit.

Does your discipline policy grant ‘one harassment free’?

07/24/2013
We all struggle with drafting policies. In the following case we learn that leaving certain words out of your disciplinary policy can be just as legally dangerous as putting the wrong words in. In this case, the employer’s discipline policy essentially allowed employees to engage in one act of sexual harassment without being terminated.

TV chef Paula Deen hires L.A. attorney-to-the-stars

07/23/2013
Embattled celebrity chef Paula Deen has fired her Georgia attorneys and called in the big guns—including famed Hollywood attorney-to-the-stars Patricia Glaser—to help salvage her reputation and media empire.