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Discrimination / Harassment

Does an employee’s bankruptcy affect whether we can terminate him?

11/02/2009

Q. I recently discovered that an employee who handles my company’s accounts receivable has filed for bankruptcy. Can I discharge this employee?

Sudden retirement? Watch for age bias lawsuit

11/02/2009

Older employees who believe a supervisor is trying to get rid of them because they’re too old can voluntarily retire—and then turn around and sue their former employer. By citing the so-called constructive discharge theory, they can show they had no choice but to quit.

Use clear criteria to ensure bias-free hiring

11/02/2009

Judges rarely second-guess the decisions of employers that use reasonable methods to hire or promote the best candidates. By using objective criteria and documenting the selection process, savvy employers win most cases.

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

11/02/2009

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) makes it illegal to base unequal pay on gender. Employees have up to three years to sue after the last allegedly discriminatory paycheck if their employer’s violation was “willful,” and two years if it was not. Unfortunately, any obvious wage disparity is probably willful.

DFW-area firm settles harassment suit for $60,000

11/02/2009

Greater Metroplex Interiors, a Southlake drywall and light construction company, has agreed to settle claims that it fired a female employee in retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Supreme Court’s new term: Arbitration, disparate impact on docket

11/02/2009

Several cases on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket this term involve employment and labor-related issues. One of the most notable of these will decide how much time plaintiffs have to file a lawsuit when they believe they have been unfairly penalized by hiring tests. Other cases will resolve issues involving an alleged whistle-blower, pension benefits, race discrimination and labor arbitration.

Should we change our policy to require that all harassment complaints be made in writing?

11/02/2009

Q. Our new plant manager wants me to revise our sexual harassment policy to require employees to submit complaints in writing. He says this will formalize the procedure and help ensure that only valid complaints are filed. I don’t think this is a good idea. Is it?

Must we accommodate beliefs that don’t seem particularly ‘religious’?

11/02/2009

Q. We have an employee who claims to be a witch. She contends that witchcraft is her religion and has asked for certain holidays off. Are we required to accommodate this employee’s request?

Ruby Tuesday should say ‘goodbye’ to age bias in hiring

10/30/2009

Perhaps the irony is lost on those who don’t remember the ’60s. Ruby Tuesday Restaurants—named after an early Rolling Stones hit—has been charged with violating the ADEA by refusing to hire applicants over age 40. If allegations by the EEOC are true, Mick Jagger himself couldn’t get hired at the store’s franchises …

Malvern’s Vanguard Group faces race discrimination suit

10/30/2009

As one of the largest investment management companies in the nation, Malvern-based Vanguard Group is used to making money, not paying it out. That could change now that the firm has been sued for racial discrimination after allegedly refusing to hire a black applicant for a high-level finance job.