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Discrimination / Harassment

Time for a snap inspection: Make sure bulletin boards don’t show signs of bias

07/22/2008
If you want to make sure all managers and supervisors are playing by the nondiscrimination and no harassment rules, get out of the office and onto the shop floor. Someone from HR must visit each and every work location regularly—but unannounced …

Lilly settles retaliation suit

07/22/2008
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to pay $64,400 to a former employee who claimed the company withheld severance pay to pressure her to withdraw a discrimination complaint …

Alcoa must defend its religious accommodation policies

07/22/2008
Timothy Walker began working at Alcoa’s Lafayette plant in 1995. He was also a pastor at his church. In May 1998, Walker was appointed head pastor, and he asked Alcoa if he could be excused from working Sunday shifts at the plant …

Can we legally ban all employee smoking at work?

07/22/2008
Q. We don’t allow smoking during the workday, even during lunch breaks. An employee complained to HR that this is discriminatory and mentioned that she may seek legal action. Is our company policy illegal? …

Tell managers: Don’t retaliate against those who complain

07/21/2008
One of the easiest ways to land the company in legal hot water is for a manager to punish someone who complains that she’s being discriminated against. It may turn out—and it often does—that no discrimination took place. Yet even in those cases, some supervisors can’t resist punishing the messenger, thereby turning a minor matter into a major retaliation case …

Hold onto those notes! Even accidental destruction can mean trouble

07/21/2008
You know it’s crucial to document all disciplinary actions. No doubt, you’ve told managers and supervisors to keep all notes, memos and other paperwork. Those records could be invaluable later if you ever need to show that all your disciplinary decisions were based on good business judgment, performance and other legitimate and relevant reasons …

Good news: Bullying and verbal abuse probably are not emotional distress

07/21/2008
Sometimes a rogue supervisor comes along who bullies or verbally abuses a subordinate. While such conduct may sometimes violate Title VII and other federal laws, it seldom results in additional awards for emotional distress under Georgia law. And that’s good news because losing an emotional distress case can be expensive.

Think twice before posting, withdrawing job

07/21/2008
Paula Casamento had worked for years in a variety of functions for Boston’s mass transit agency, but wanted to be promoted. When the agency posted a new supervisory position, she applied. A male employee had been performing most of the new job’s functions for several years …

Crawfish étouffée: $143,000

07/21/2008
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has agreed to pay more than $143,000 to settle sexual harassment complaints by Mary Harris, a GDOT secretary, and Carrie Hart, who staffs the front desk in the commissioner’s office …

Avoiding reference-Related retaliation claims

07/21/2008
Q. How should we handle giving references about a former employee who was involved in litigation against the company or filed an administrative charge with a government agency, such as the EEOC or the DOL? Should we include that information in response to the reference? Or should we not provide any information at all? …