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Discrimination / Harassment

When firing, consider all the circumstances–but prepare for lawsuit

07/05/2013

Fired employees who file lawsuits alleging they were singled out for discipline because of some form of discrimination usually follow a basic legal strategy. They try to find a former co-worker outside their protected class who was punished less severely for similar conduct. Your best defense against those lawsuits is to make sure you carefully document all discipline.

Worried promotion might fail? Take a chance anyway

07/03/2013
Some employees rise to a challenge; others don’t. If you are worried that an employee you want to promote might not succeed but want to give her a chance, go ahead. As long as you give her ample training, it won’t appear to be a setup.

Lab must pay $2.73 million to wrongly fired workers

06/27/2013
A San Francisco jury has awarded $2,729,037 to five former employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who alleged wrongful termination and breach of their employment contracts.

Keep all lawsuit settlements confidential!

06/27/2013
Here’s an important warning for employers that end discrimination or harassment lawsuits with settlement agreements that include a confidentiality clause: Keep those terms confidential and accessible only to those who absolutely need to know. Otherwise, you could wind up facing a retaliation lawsuit if word of the settlement leaks out …

Poor review alone isn’t grounds for lawsuit

06/27/2013
Good news for bosses who get nervous when required to give poor performance evaluations: A negative performance review alone isn’t grounds for a lawsuit. It’s only if the review becomes the basis for discharge, demotion or a denied promotion that employees can take the matter to court.

Worry about disciplinary inequities from one supervisor, not every boss

06/27/2013
Yes, all employees are supposed to be treated equally when they break the same rule. But when courts compare discipline, they don’t do so across the entire organization. They focus on one supervisor at a time. Company-wide variations are normal and not absolute proof of discrimination.

Supreme Court sets stricter standard for retaliation

06/27/2013
The Supreme Court on June 24 ruled that employees can only win retaliation lawsuits if they can prove that their employer retaliated solely because of the employee’s protected activity. The 5-4 decision in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar was another significant victory for employers that should limit liability.

EEOC persuades court that lactation discrimination is gender bias

06/27/2013
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Houston has ruled unanimously that firing a woman because she is lactating is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII.

Racism, bias allegations roil Texas Parks and Wildlife

06/26/2013
A black game warden-in-training—one of only two black cadets in her class—has filed an EEOC discrimination complaint against the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. At the same time, the EEOC also granted a white game warden permission to file a federal lawsuit alleging that supervisors instructed him to “distance himself” from black colleagues.

Court: True volunteers aren’t covered by Title VII

06/26/2013
Except under very limited circumstances, volunteers aren’t considered employees under Title VII. That means they can’t sue for things like sexual harassment.