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Discrimination / Harassment

Stop frivolous claims with solid hiring, promotion processes consistently applied

04/02/2010

Smart employers have well-developed and organized hiring and promotion processes. Not only do they have them, they follow them carefully. That’s critical because when people don’t get jobs they want, they often suspect discrimination. And then they sue, whether they have a good case or not.

Note date when worker first learns of lost job

04/02/2010
It’s common for employers to let employees know in advance that they’re about to lose their jobs or have failed to win coveted promotions. Getting bad news like that can make some employees wonder whether discrimination might have played a role.

Vulgar e-mail: React differently if sent from home?

04/01/2010

Q. One of our employees sometimes sends offensive jokes to her fellow employees from her home e-mail account. We’re worried that someone may take offense and sue for racial or other harassment. What can we do if she’s sending this from home?

Mind your mouth: Ageist criticism more likely than ever to spur a lawsuit

03/26/2010

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 Gross v. FBL Financial Services decision, employees suing for age discrimination have had to prove that “but for” the employee’s age, the employer wouldn’t have taken the adverse action it did. Gross generally benefited employers, but it also raised the stakes. Now, managers’ ageist statements can really have an impact.

Pay gap between men and women is wider in Pennsylvania

03/26/2010

Nationally, women earn about 80 cents for each dollar men receive. But in Pennsylvania, that figure is closer to 78 cents. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pennsylvania women earned a median weekly salary of $642 in 2008. The median salary for Keystone State men was $815.

Hiring bias alert: Beware smoking-gun e-mails

03/26/2010
Remind everyone involved in the hiring process: It’s much better to pick up the phone to discuss a candidate than it is to send an e-mail. E-mails can be recovered (and used as evidence in court); phone calls cannot.

How co-worker harassment can become supervisor harassment

03/26/2010
Generally, co-worker harassment doesn’t mean liability for the employer if the employer had no reason to know about the behavior. But if one of the co-workers has some degree of control over the employee he harassed, courts may conclude that supervisor liability applies.

Remind all decision-makers: Age-related comments almost always lead to courtroom

03/26/2010

We can’t say it often enough: Do everything you can to discourage any age-related comments at work. Make sure managers and supervisors understand that seemingly innocent jokes can come back to bite. Ageist comments do nothing but cause trouble, as this recent case shows:

Act fast to punish violent employee, even if he’s been the victim of harassment

03/26/2010

It’s understandable that employees might get angry if they perceive that co-workers are harassing them. But that doesn’t justify a violent reaction. When alleged victims of harassment lash out, you can and should punish them. But even as you discipline the angry worker, make sure you also do whatever you can to end the harassment that precipitated the violent response.

Warn bosses: Loose lips lead to lawsuits

03/26/2010

Some managers can’t seem to understand that they shouldn’t discuss personnel matters with anyone other than the appropriate people within the organization. Consider the following case in which a supervisor’s conversation with an outsider may have cost his employer $100,000.