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Discrimination / Harassment

Lafayette pays $1 million to settle harassment charges

05/26/2010

Easton-based Lafayette College will pay five women $1 million to settle sexual harassment charges against a supervisor in the public safety division. According to an EEOC complaint, the supervisor repeatedly made lewd gestures and remarks, e-mailed pornography, groped female employees and even forcibly kissed them.

Former IT chief accuses BabyAge.com of religious bias

05/26/2010

Shlomo Hecht, former chief technology officer for BabyAge.com in Wilkes-Barre, is suing the web-based business for religious discrimination. Hecht, who is Jewish, claims BabyAge.com’s CEO Jack Kiefer frequently made disparaging remarks about Jews and told Hecht that he did not want a “Jew Boy Club” in the office.

Ban former employee from premises; it’s not retaliation

05/26/2010
How do you handle a former employee who wants to come onto the premises and speak with other employees about her pending lawsuit? You can ban her.

7 elements of a social media policy that limits your liability

05/26/2010

Online social networking sites provide a variety of benefits to organizations. They can help you collect industry-based knowledge, reach new customers, build your brand and publicize your company’s name and reputation. But those benefits come with their fair share of legal risks. You need a comprehensive social media policy to guide employees on your expectations about their online behavior.

EEOC, N.J. man say Accenture’s background checks are biased

05/26/2010
Management consulting giant Accenture faces a class-action lawsuit over its use of background checks on job applicants. The suit, filed in New York, alleges Accenture’s policy of background checks has a disparate impact on minorities.

Don’t let fear of lawsuit keep you from firing harasser

05/26/2010
There’s no way around it: When you fire someone who has been harassing other employees, he may sue. Accept that fact and carefully document the investigation that led to the termination.

Have business justification for hiring rules that could cause disparate impact

05/26/2010

Is your workforce less diverse than the local labor market? You can head off discrimination lawsuits by citing legitimate business needs that justify hiring rules that seem to cause disparities. The best approach: Have a clear business justification for any screening or job criteria you use, even if you don’t expect they will cause a disparate impact on any protected group.

Weigh retaliation risk when firing worker who has complained of discrimination

05/26/2010

Before terminating an employee who has recently filed a discrimination claim, consider whether the timing may provoke a retaliation lawsuit. Generally, the closer in time to the complaint a termination occurs, the more likely a court will order a jury trial. You may still terminate the employee—if you’re sure that’s appropriate.

Beware shifting explanations for HR decisions

05/26/2010

When it comes to hiring and retention decisions, make sure that everyone involved in the process is on the same page. Decide on the criteria and stick with them for all candidates. Otherwise, shifting explanations about who is chosen and who is rejected can look like intentional efforts to manipulate the choice and hide underlying discrimination.

Supreme Court: Title VII deadline clock resets with each new biased decision

05/25/2010
The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Title VII lawsuit clock resets each time an employer uses apparently biased job-qualification tests to make hiring decisions. Lewis v. Chicago recharts the litigation calendar, while recalling two other landmark Supreme Court cases.