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Discrimination / Harassment

Court: Just 3 days of harassment can indeed create a hostile work environment

12/18/2012

Usually, courts considering whether an employee worked in a hostile environment look at a period of weeks, months or years to assess whether the alleged har­assment was severe and pervasive enough to become truly hostile. But sometimes just a few days will do the trick.

Supremes to decide: For Title VII, who’s a supervisor?

12/18/2012
The U.S. Supreme Court in November heard oral arguments in Vance v. Ball State, a case that could redefine employer liability when supervisors harass, discriminate or retaliate against employees. At issue: Just who is a supervisor?

Feel free to adjust pay to suit local standards

12/18/2012
Don’t let pay concerns get in the way of a transfer. Feel free to adjust compensation to account for different market rates in different locations. It’s perfectly fine to adjust salaries to suit local standards.

Before you’re sued: Check for bias patterns

12/18/2012

Do you regularly audit your HR records for signs of hidden bias? Would you know if members of a particular protected class were getting fewer promotions than others? The start of the new year is the perfect time to identify and correct any problems.

EEOC lawsuits are down, but is that good news?

12/14/2012
The EEOC filed only 122 discrimination lawsuits against employers in fiscal year 2012, less than half the number it did in 2011, says the Seyfarth Shaw law firm. They attributed the decline to a series of court rulings in which the EEOC was slapped down for “shooting first, aiming later.”

Your best weapon in court: documentation that’s dated

12/12/2012

Employees have a limited window in which to file discrimination complaints and related lawsuits. Miss the deadline and the case is over. That’s why it’s important to document all employment decisions—even trivial ones—with a note and a date for the record.

Whether layoff affects one or 100, use solid business reasons to justify job cuts

12/12/2012
Sometimes, all it takes to cure a budget shortfall is to cut one position. As a business move, doing so is just as valid as conducting a much larger layoff. As long as you can show the change was based on business needs, you won’t lose a discrimination case.

Stop litigious employees’ amateur sleuthing! Set policies to ban unauthorized recordings

12/12/2012
Surreptitiously gathering evidence in violation of your rules isn’t protected activity and can’t be the basis for an employee’s subsequent retaliation lawsuit.

Beware bias claims if pay cuts are looming

12/12/2012
Like many state and local government ­employers, you no doubt are looking to cut ex­­penses, including labor costs. If you must scale back employee pay, make sure that there’s no discrimination in whose salary is cut. Other­­wise, your savings may be eaten up in litigation costs.

Request for ’50 state club’ lands boss in lawsuitland

12/12/2012
Two male bartenders at a Hilton in Minneapolis are suing the hotel, claiming they were punished for spurning a female manager’s sexual overtures and then complaining about the sexual harassment.