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Discrimination / Harassment

Hopeful worker gets extra time to sue

02/25/2020
Employees who believe that their employer will act on discrimination complaints and make their workplace tolerable may get extra time to sue.

Ensure security procedures discourage sexual harassment, make it easy to spot

02/25/2020
These days, more employers are using security screening to protect employees, customers and clients from potential violence. But those screenings can spur resentment, anger and—occasionally—charges of sexual harassment, as this recent case shows.

Justify ‘English-only’ rule on safety, service and efficiency—not simply preference

02/20/2020
Establishing language restrictions in the workplace isn’t automatically illegal. However, depending on how restrictive your rule is (and your reason for establishing it), an English-only policy could create liability under federal and state national-origin discrimination laws.

With EEOC on a roll, enforce your policies

02/20/2020
The EEOC has been active recently, addressing a wide variety of workplace harassment and discrimination cases. Here’s a sampling.

Settling still possible after catastrophic loss

02/20/2020
Here’s an important note for employers that lose lawsuits and get zapped with huge jury awards: Don’t give up trying to reach a settlement with the employee who sued.

Snapshot: Sources of EEOC disability discrimination charges

02/18/2020
Disability discrimination was the most common EEOC bias charge last year. Here are the five most frequent medical reasons for disability discrimination complaints.

Congressional Dems query JPMorgan about race bias

02/18/2020
Following an article in The New York Times detailing apparent discrimination by the JPMorgan Chase bank against black clients, several Democratic members of Congress have requested specific information from CEO Jaime Dimon.

Telecommuting OK for some? Allow for pregnant staff, too

02/18/2020
If working from home is an option for some of your employees, be sure to consider it a possible reasonable accommodation for pregnant women who have temporary restrictions.

Employee must actually ask employer for religious accommodations

02/18/2020
An employer’s obligation to discuss reasonable religious accommodations isn’t triggered by a general complaint about scheduling. The employee must make a specific request for the religious accommodation so the employer can evaluate it.

Angry outbursts are inappropriate, but don’t always create hostile environment

02/18/2020
Sometimes, supervisors lose their cool with a difficult subordinate. Fortunately, a few isolated incidents aren’t enough to create a hostile work environment.