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Discrimination / Harassment

Be prepared to answer the question: Are you biased, or is employee overly sensitive?

01/16/2012
Every once in a while, you’ll run across an employee who is hyper­­sensitive to any criticism. She may even attribute it to bias against a protected status, and may file an EEOC complaint. Rest assured that if you investigated and took her complaint seriously, the EEOC complaint will likely be dismissed.

OFCCP rocks Lund’s boat, charges gender discrimination

01/12/2012
The federal Office of Federal Con­­tract Compliance Programs is suing New York Mills-based Lund Boat Co. and parent company Bruns­­wick Corp., alleging discrimination against women in its hiring practices.

Paying women less, hoping for the best is recipe for Equal Pay Act disaster

01/12/2012
Ignoring an employee’s persistent complaints that she’s being paid less than her male counterparts may amount to a willful violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA). And willful violations add a year onto the two years of back-pay liability.

Before firing, offer second chance to improve

01/12/2012

Some employees facing criticism will own up to the problem and work to improve. Others simply refuse to recognize that their per­­formance is subpar or contributing to discord in the workplace. Either way, it’s worth at least ex­­tend­­ing to the employee a chance to improve and keep his job—after you have docu­mented the nature of the problem.

New EEOC task force aims to help small businesses

01/12/2012
The EEOC has established a small business task force to improve its outreach to small businesses that may not have access to expert legal advice or a staff of experienced HR professionals. The goal: Ensure small-business owners know how to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.

Strict attendance policy is fine if followed consistently

01/12/2012

Some jobs require employees to always show up on time. Nursing homes, day care centers, hospitals and the like are obvious examples. Draconian attendance policies may be necessary to ensure coverage. As long as they allow for FMLA leave and consider reasonable accommodations for disabled workers, such rules are fine.

Employees lose claim they were targeted for discomfort due to age

01/12/2012
Employers that make it difficult for employees to take breaks or keep a regular schedule may face resistance—and legal claims from disabled workers who need accommodations. But they don’t have to worry about lawsuits from older workers who claim the lack of breaks is age discrimination.

Warn bosses: Keep concerns to yourself if employee’s pregnancy doesn’t fit project schedule

01/12/2012

In tough times like these, employees are being asked to do more with less. Temporarily losing a worker to pregnancy, childbirth and maternity leave can create scheduling havoc. That doesn’t mean, however, that supervisors can let their irritation show.

Have minimum promotion standards? Use them–or risk discrimination lawsuit

01/12/2012

Before you authorize hiring or promoting a candidate who doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for the position, consider the potential for litigation. The fact is, if an employee or applicant who does meet the requirements belongs to a different protected class than the worker who got the job, you could wind up facing a lawsuit.

Older worker pay maxed out? That’s not bias

01/12/2012
If your company has a top pay level for each job classification, you probably end up giving some older workers smaller raises than less-tenured employees. That’s fine as long as you can explain that the difference is because of your wage schedules, not age discrimination.