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Discrimination / Harassment

Be ready to come down hard on managers and supervisors who use ethnic slurs

12/15/2009

Employers that let bosses get away with ethnic slurs risk having an unsympathetic jury decide whether and how severely to punish them. If you don’t send a strong message to those who use slurs that such behavior is unacceptable, you risk creating a corporate culture that encourages more of the same—and you may also empower supervisors to retaliate against the targeted employee.

Check your records! Some old pay-bias cases get new life under Ledbetter law

12/15/2009

When President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act nearly a year ago, some employees got an additional chance to press their pay discrimination claims. That’s because the new law covers Equal Pay Act claims pending at the EEOC or in federal court as of May 28, 2007. Tip: If you haven’t already done so, now’s the time to review your compensation program to check for hidden sex bias.

Same title doesn’t make employees equally qualified

12/15/2009

Some employees believe they should be considered for a promotion just because they have the same job title as another employee being considered. But that’s not the case if the employees have different experience levels. For example, recent retirees may take entry-level jobs for which they are “overqualified.” When a promotion opportunity opens, their employer may be eager to use their talents more fully.

Check your pay rates! Obvious male/female disparity is probably ‘willful’ discrimination

12/14/2009

The Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to base unequal pay on gender. If an employee can show that a violation was “willful,” she has up to three years to sue after the last allegedly discriminatory paycheck; only two years if it’s not willful. Heads up: Courts will probably call any obvious wage disparity a “willful” violation.

Be on guard against sexist hostile environment

12/11/2009

When we think of a hostile work environment based on sex, we often assume an overtly sexualized workplace. Transgressions such as viewing porn, posting lurid photos on cubicle walls and demanding sexual favors are clearly sexual in nature. But those aren’t the only things that can make an environment sexually hostile. Employees can launch a claim of hostile environment if they can show they were forced to work in a sexist environment.

When it comes to retaliation fears, don’t sweat the small stuff—because courts won’t

12/11/2009

Sometimes it seems as though anything an employer does after an employee complains about discrimination can get turned into a retaliation case. It’s not actually that bad. The fact is, it’s only retaliation if it would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining in the first place. Minor workplace changes don’t count.

Beware retaliation suit if lateral transfer harms career

12/11/2009

While employers generally are free to direct their workforces in reasonable ways to meet operational needs, they can’t retaliate against employees for complaining about possible discrimination. While a mere reassignment to another department in a retail store isn’t retaliation, a transfer or series of transfers that limits future opportunities may be.

You can’t go wrong with a solid discharge reason

12/11/2009

You never know which employee will sue you, when or why. Everyone can probably find some reason good enough to get past the courthouse door. It’s your job to make sure you can send them right back out. The best way to do that: Always have a solid reason for disciplinary action.

What to do when execs undermine your HR policies

12/10/2009

Q. “For years, we’ve granted two employees—a married couple—extra unpaid leave for vacations. We recently notified employees that additional time off would no longer be given. But the owner sees no problem making an exception for this couple, even while other employees have to live with the new rule. How should I handle this?” Readers of The HR Specialist Forum weighed in with answers:

Take sexual harassment complaints seriously—even if they involve past lovers

12/09/2009

Some employers wrongly believe that when co-workers end what was a consensual sexual relationship, one employee can’t later claim sexual harassment for post-breakup conduct. The dubious assumption: Any subsequent unpleasant contact between the employees was probably based on jealousy or anger over the broken relationship rather than “on account of sex.” That’s not always true.