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Discrimination / Harassment

Promptly fixed problem can’t be grounds for legal action

11/08/2010

Managing a workplace isn’t easy and not every assignment or schedule is completely fair. Employees who complain about something that might otherwise be considered an adverse employment action can’t sue if their employer fixes the problem right away.

Post job openings, application deadlines to cut down on suits challenging promotions

11/08/2010
Employers that use formal promotion processes probably won’t lose a failure-to-promote lawsuit if the employee in question didn’t even bother applying. But employers that use informal methods may be blindsided by lawsuits alleging discriminatory promotion practices without even having had a chance to review the employee’s qualifications.

Use hotline to receive employee complaints, prove when litigation clock started ticking

11/08/2010

Courts increasingly insist that employees meet deadlines for filing EEOC or other discrimination complaints. The law allows employees just a short period of time to start the lawsuit process after an employer’s adverse decision. Smart employers have systems that precisely track internal complaints. With those in place, employers can more easily argue that the employee waited too long to sue.

Bias, retaliation settlement strips club of $95,000

11/08/2010

The Papermoon Strip Club in Stuart will pay $95,000 to two black doormen and several white employees to settle complaints of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation. According to the EEOC, the doormen were subjected to racial slurs and segregated from white employees. White employees who complained about the discrimination were retaliated against.

Southern Ohio contractor settles race bias lawsuit

11/08/2010

Mareo R. Allen will get his job back at Mike Enyart & Sons Inc., after the construction firm—located in South Point, near the West Virginia border—agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination suit filed on Allen’s behalf. Allen alleged he was fired in retaliation for complaining about racial harassment while working on a sewer-line installation project.

Mineral Met hung out to dry following noose incident

11/08/2010
Chemical company Mineral Met has agreed to pay $440,000 to settle an EEOC race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed on behalf of black employees at its Cleveland plant.

Temp-to-permanent promotions the norm? Check for unintentional bias toward one group

11/08/2010

Sometimes it makes sense to appoint workers to temporarily fill vacancies and then use your formal promotion process to make permanent appointments. But that practice carries some risk. You could wind up in court if you make those temporary appointments permanent.

Establish zero-tolerance policy on violence and threats–but don’t count on backup from courts

11/08/2010

The almost universal employer response to increased workplace violence has been the implementation of so-called zero-tolerance policies. The problem with zero-tolerance rules is that they only work if they’re uniformly enforced. Employers can’t pick and choose which employee’s behavior violates the policy. To do so invites legal trouble, as the following case shows.

Don’t sweat the small stuff: It’s no basis for lawsuits

11/05/2010

Employees seem to think they are entitled to a perfect workplace, free from any conflict or unpleasantness. But that isn’t true. Heck, it’s not even possible! Courts rarely indulge such claims. They’d rather sort out real discrimination and harassment cases, not waste time on hypersensitive employees.

Court shows no patience for litigious ex-employee

11/05/2010
It happens quite often: An employee you fired for rock-solid reasons sues … and sues … and sues some more. Once a former employee gets lawsuit-happy, there’s no telling how far the litigation process will go. But now there’s good news. State and federal courts are tossing out such cases almost as fast as they come in the door. Appeals courts, too.