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Discrimination / Harassment

Require medical exams if they’re job-related

03/18/2011

You may have read that employers aren’t permitted to force employees to take medical exams because they could reveal a disability. While pre-employment, pre-job-offer medical exams are barred, there are times when medical exams are fine. The key is whether the exams are job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Lesson from Walmart: How to cut risk when a co-worker harasses

03/18/2011

Here’s some good news for employers that take sexual harassment complaints seriously. In Sutherland v. Wal-Mart, the 7th Circuit emphasized that an employer’s prompt response to an employee’s complaint of sexual harassment may protect it from liability.  

Appeals court: No serial litigation for related claims

03/16/2011

Good news for employers: The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an employee can’t wait until losing one lawsuit to file another one based on the same events, even if the second lawsuit involves a different law. Employees have to file related claims together.

Both sides swear to conflicting versions of truth? Prepare to make your case to a jury

03/16/2011

It could happen: Several former employees get together to sue you over alleged discrimination. Their complaint is full of outrageous, obviously false statements. You have the sworn affidavits contradicting their claims. A court should have no trouble deciding to toss out such a case, right? Maybe not.

SCOTUS retaliation ruling already a factor

03/16/2011
The ink was barely dry on the U.S. Supreme Court retaliation decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless when a federal judge considering a Florida case expanded the opinion’s reach.

Legit discipline OK, even following complaint

03/16/2011
Some managers worry needlessly that any step they take after an employee complains about harassment will mean a lawsuit. But as long as you can support your disciplinary act with a good reason—and you keep good records showing how you made the decision—chances are good a court will dismiss the suit.

Fire insubordinate worker, despite complaint

03/16/2011

Employees who complain about discrimination or harassment are protected from retaliation. But some of them mistakenly believe that complaining makes them invincible. That’s not true. Employers can discipline any employee who deserves it—including those who have complained—as long as the rules are applied fairly.

Being sued? Gather all employment records ASAP

03/16/2011

It’s a fact of life: Unhappy applicants, employees and former employees tend to sue. There’s not much you can do about that. However, you can be prepared to react quickly as soon as you learn of a lawsuit. The key is having complete documentation of all employment decisions.

Feel free to offer constructive criticism when evaluating employees–even good ones

03/15/2011

You may have employees who perform well but could do better—and you might have some ideas about how they can do that. So at evaluation time, you rate them as good or even excellent employees and want to include some specific suggestions in the narrative part of the evaluation. But you also know that some employees are sen­sitive to criticism. What should you do?

Checklist: A practical guide to investigating workplace harassment

03/14/2011
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Ellerth v. Burlington Industries were a wake-up call for employers to prevent, detect and remedy unlawful workplace harassment. HR’s key tool for doing so: the internal investigation. When harassment rears its ugly head, here’s how to conduct your investigation.