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Discrimination / Harassment

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.

Before we start background checks, should we start asking applicants for birth dates?

10/30/2009

Q. Our job application doesn’t ask for the applicant’s age or date of birth. However, we plan to start conducting background checks on job applicants we’re seriously considering. The company that will conduct the checks for us said the birth date is on all the applications they see and that it’s instrumental to conducting the checks. What should we do?

When workplace romance fizzles, watch out for discipline that looks like discrimination

10/29/2009

When co-workers involved in a romantic relationship break up, tensions can boil over in the workplace. And when an ugly situation creates a need for discipline, things get sticky for employers. Be wary of any discipline that targets just one of the former lovebirds. As the following case shows, doing so can lead to a sex discrimination lawsuit.

‘Get real’ with performance reviews; make sure managers don’t fluff them up

10/27/2009

Your supervisors have probably heard the horror stories of how negative performance reviews have sparked lawsuits from disgruntled employees. That could cause some supervisors to shy away from criticism and give excessively positive reviews to even their poorest-performing workers. The better thing to do is to urge your supervisors to “get real” with reviews.

Beware ‘front pay’ trap when job-seekers sue

10/27/2009

Employees you don’t hire can’t cause too much legal trouble, right? Wrong! In today’s tough economy, frustrated job-seekers are more likely than ever to sue. And if they sue for discrimination and win, courts are increasingly likely to award both back pay and lost future earnings …

Independent contractors can sue for race bias

10/27/2009

Unlike employees, independent contractors can’t sue under Title VII for alleged discrimination. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have legal options if they believe they’ve suffered race discrimination. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has just concluded that an old Civil War-era law still outlaws discrimination in contracting.

Guess again: You can’t avoid liability by ignoring pay discrimination complaints

10/27/2009

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an earlier decision made just months ago and ruled that when a woman asks for a raise to equal her male counterpart’s pay, ignoring the request is the same as denying the request. The employee may then file a Title VII pay discrimination claim …

Track timing on discrimination suits; missed federal deadlines can kill state claims, too

10/27/2009

Here’s another good reason to push for early dismissal of employee lawsuits when it’s clear the employee has missed an important filing deadline: Doing so may kill state claims that have yet to be filed—if those claims are based on the same facts.

NJLAD protects people perceived as handicapped

10/27/2009

Employees don’t have to actually be handicapped to be protected from discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). It’s enough that an employer perceives them as handicapped. As the following case shows, it doesn’t take much to send such a case to a jury trial.