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Discrimination / Harassment

When settling, consider adding a ‘no return’ clause

09/02/2009

Sometimes, it may seem like a good idea to simply settle a case and move on—especially if the case is taking up lots of time. Before you agree to a settlement amount, consider whether you really want the employee to stay with your organization.

Even self-representing litigants have deadlines

09/02/2009

Courts traditionally have been lenient with plaintiffs who represent themselves, giving them every benefit of the doubt. As this case shows, that seems to be changing.

Beware: 1 racist boss may cause class-action

08/28/2009

Here’s how little it takes to land a good organization in the hottest of legal waters: One verified comment by a supervisor showing that he’s against promoting or hiring minority applicants may mean a costly class-action lawsuit. The good news: You can often ferret out hidden discrimination with some simple statistical analysis.

Suit claims owner of mental health service harassed women

08/28/2009

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against Greenville-based Carter Behavior Health Services, claiming the owner continually harassed female employees.

Adopt an anti-harassment policy and plan—before workplace malice gets out of hand

08/28/2009

Do you know exactly how you should respond to a sexual or racial harassment complaint? If you don’t, now is a good time to come up with a strategy—before you have to implement it. Advice: Your plan should spell out exactly how the harassment investigation will be handled, who will handle it and what will happen if the allegations prove true.

A gentle rejection letter is fine, but document why you chose someone else

08/28/2009

Employers often have many reasons for choosing one candidate over another. You should document all business-related reasons for your decision. But you don’t have to list them all in the rejection letter you send. Feel free to provide just one reason.

Employee sued and now she’s back at work? Don’t walk on eggshells for fear of retaliation

08/28/2009

You know it’s illegal to retaliate against an employee who returns to work after winning or settling a lawsuit against you. But that doesn’t mean management has to be afraid of her, worrying that she’ll perceive every little slight as the organization’s way of getting back at her. As the following case shows, employees can’t cry retaliation for the little stuff.

Prompt response key in hostile environment cases

08/28/2009

Employers that quickly respond to employee sexual harassment and hostile environment complaints cut their liability.

Stanley Furniture settles racial harassment suit

08/28/2009

Virginia-based Stanley Furniture has settled a racial harassment suit filed by three employees at the furniture manufacturer’s former plant in Lexington.

Document reason for termination to make sure courts don’t second-guess your decision

08/26/2009

If you have to fire an employee, don’t worry that a court is just waiting to second-guess why you did so. The fact is, courts are reluctant to question your reasons as long as you can convince them the reasons were honest, even if in retrospect they may seem baseless or even foolish. They don’t want to become a national HR department.