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Discrimination / Harassment

Court: ‘X’ must mark the spot on EEOC forms

03/05/2013

Employees who claim discrimination sometimes fill out EEOC complaint forms before they hire an attorney. That means they often fail to correctly mark the boxes that indicate the type of discrimination they are alleging. Fortunately, courts won’t allow claims for other forms of discrimination if an unchecked box on the form ­covered the claim the employee later asserts.

Protect against bias allegations: Involve hiring manager in any termination decision

03/05/2013
It’s a good standard policy: The person (or persons) who made the hiring decision should also take part in any firing decision. That way, the employee can’t argue that discrimination based on an obvious protected characteristic like race, sex or handicap must have been at work.

In Burnsville, religious bias defense doesn’t have a prayer

03/05/2013
Altec Industries has agreed to pay a job applicant $25,000 after it refused to hire the Seventh-Day Adventist to work at its Burnsville, N.C., facility. The applicant alleged that when he revealed that his religion forbade him to work from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, the company refused to hire him.

Cutting off good shifts can be retaliation

03/05/2013
When an employee complains about sexual harassment and suddenly finds herself under scrutiny—and sees her schedule changed—she may have a retaliation case.

If employee refuses to cooperate with investigation, feel free to fire

02/26/2013
Not everyone wants to cooperate when an employer begins investigating discrimination or harassment charges. One solution is to tell all em­­ployees they must cooperate. Otherwise, they risk being disciplined. If that doesn’t work, you now have an option …

Severance agreements: Beware new legal risks

02/26/2013
If your severance packages to departing workers include a waiver of future potential lawsuits, that’s a smart strategy. But be aware that small mistakes with severance packages—especially for older workers—can lead to big problems in court.

How does California law affect hiring?

02/20/2013
Q. For the first time in a while, we need to hire new staff. What issues should we take into account during the recruiting process?

Worried about firing the only minority employee?

02/20/2013

If your workplace isn’t exactly the picture of diversity, the need to fire your only minority employee may worry you. Isn’t that just courting a lawsuit? Maybe—but that’s no reason to retain a poor performer.

Worker has ADA-covered disability? Disclose only to those who need to know

02/20/2013

Employees asking for ADA disability accommodations often end up providing very private details about their health. Carefully guard that information so only those who have a real need to know about it are privy to the employee’s condition. That means you should establish a strict protocol for distributing health-related information.

Give HR the last word on terminations: Supervisor bias can taint firing decisions

02/20/2013
It’s never a good idea to “throw the book” at an employee just be­­cause a supervisor wants to get rid of her. Before approving discipline, check to make sure this isn’t an illegal effort to terminate. Ask why the supervisor wants to fire the employee.