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Discrimination / Harassment

Not everyone wears a halo: Courts don’t expect your work atmosphere to be perfect

03/30/2011
You’d like to think that employees will never do or say anything even mildly offensive. But that’s just not realistic … and courts don’t expect it to be. As long as workplace squabbles and personality conflicts don’t turn into discrimination based on age, race, religion or another protected category, they simply won’t rise to the level of unlawful discrimination.

EEOC issues final ADAAA regs

03/29/2011
The EEOC has issued final regulations for implementing the ADA Amendment Acts, clarifying many of the provisions contained in legislation that was enacted in January 2009. The likely result of the final regulations, according to employment law attorneys: More ADA cases will probably go to trial.

Supreme Court: Complaints don’t have to be in writing to be protected

03/29/2011
Employees are now three-for-three in Supreme Court employment law cases this term, now that the High Court has ruled that an employee’s complaints don’t have to be written to be protected from retaliation by their employers.

Franklin County EMS head sues for bias, FMLA retaliation

03/29/2011
The former acting head of Franklin County’s emergency management agency has filed federal sex discrimination and hostile work environment charges against the county, alleging her working conditions were so severe she developed a serious health condition that required medical leave.

Chestnut Hill College fires professor-priest for being gay

03/29/2011

It seems administrators at Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill College didn’t know one of their employees as well as they thought they did. The Rev. James St. George had been teaching Bible studies, theology and justice courses at the Catholic college since 2009. When St. George wrote in a blog posting that he is gay, the college fired him.

Remind bosses: No negative talk about working moms

03/29/2011
When a young mother begins missing work, a manager may think she isn’t taking her career seriously enough. Expressing that sentiment may provoke your employee to sue.

Document why you fired worker, even in cases where rationale seems crystal clear

03/29/2011

Often, you have to fire employees for reasons that seem painfully obvious. Don’t let that stop you from carefully documenting the decision. The fact is, you never know which employee will sue or what she will claim.

Be patient if worker alleges minor harassment

03/29/2011

Employers have an obligation to prevent sexual harassment and to end it when it does occur. But many times, what a thin-skinned employee considers harassment isn’t actually serious enough to rise to that level. When that happens, smart employers exercise patience. They understand the very real danger of winning a sexual harassment case but losing the retaliation case that follows.

Reprimand by itself isn’t an adverse action

03/29/2011

To sue for employment discrimination, employees have to show some sort of adverse action—e.g., discharge, demotion, a pay cut or a transfer to a less desirable or less prestigious position. Merely being criticized or having a reprimand placed in a personnel folder isn’t enough to support a lawsuit.

What’s wrong with this picture? Spot the HR problems in this vintage ad

03/29/2011
It was a different world in the 1860s. Work was dangerous. Pay was low. News spread slowly. Oh, and HR apparently didn’t have much say in the recruitment process. See how many employment law violations you can spot in this ad seeking riders for the Pony Express.