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Discrimination / Harassment

Age comments plus termination equal trouble

03/29/2012
Here’s an important reminder for all supervisors: Innocent age-related comments can come back to haunt you. That’s especially true if the comments come from someone who has a direct say in hiring and firing decisions.

Establish clear discipline policies–and follow them for every employee, every time

03/29/2012
You’ll rarely lose a termination-related lawsuit if your handbook contains clear rules that you follow consistently. That’s because when everyone who breaks the same rule is equitably disciplined, fired employees will have a hard time finding ­workers outside their protected class who were treated more favorably than they were.

Foreign-born worker sues? Know difference between national origin and immigration status

03/29/2012
While it is illegal to discriminate against an individual based on his or her national origin, that doesn’t mean that discrimination against someone based on her immigration status is forbidden. That’s because immigration status isn’t tied to a particular national origin.

Harassment after off-site party: Must we investigate?

03/29/2012
Q. We have an annual off-site company party, with alcohol. We pay for half the hotel room cost if people want to stay over. An alleged harassment event occurred in a hotel room around 2 a.m. What is our potential liability? And do we have to investigate the complaint … ?

Employee making threats? Know how to legally handle explosive situation

03/28/2012

Some employees are simply difficult to manage. They start arguments and may see harassment or discrimination at every turn. Sometimes they cross a line, implying they could get violent. How you handle their complaints can spell the difference between winning and losing a lawsuit.

Greensboro mulls settlement in race discrimination lawsuit

03/23/2012
The city of Greensboro is considering an offer to settle a racial discrimi­­na­­tion lawsuit filed by longtime athletic director Jean Jackson. Jackson, who is black, claims the city regularly promotes white employees to management jobs without openly advertising the positions.

Watch out if your reorg affects only one worker

03/23/2012
If you terminate a current employee during a reorganization process and then hire someone outside the terminated worker’s protected class, you can count on a lawsuit that will go to trial.

Beware new grounds for wrongful-firing suits: Termination in violation of public policy

03/23/2012
Employees and their lawyers are always looking for new reasons to sue. Lately, there’s been an in­­crease in efforts to cast terminations as public-policy violations.

Stay ahead of EEOC complaint calendar by documenting when employee learns he’ll lose job

03/23/2012

Employees who think they have been wrongly fired face tight deadlines for complaining about discrimination. In North Carolina, they have just 180 days to file an EEOC complaint. What’s more, the clock starts ticking the day the employee learns he is informed he will no longer have a job, not from the last day on the job.

Looking for a quick end to harassment case? Never urge the complaining employee to resign

03/23/2012

Sexual harassment victims deserve to have their claims investigated, not ignored. Under no circumstances should you encourage a complaining employee to quit instead of having to endure continued harassment. That’s a sure indication to many juries that the worker was punished for reporting sexual harassment.