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Discrimination / Harassment

Considering an employee hotline, but worried about anonymous complaints

02/01/2008

Q. We don’t have a hotline for employees to call to complain about harassment, discrimination or retaliation. We have been considering one, but we are concerned about anonymous complaints. Should we set up one anyway? …

Don’t reject convicted felons unless you have legitimate business reason

02/01/2008

Q. Our hiring process involves conducting background and reference checks. If an employee has a felony conviction within the past seven years, we automatically refuse employment. Any reason we should change our policy? …

How can we help an employee who is receiving harassing phone calls?

02/01/2008

Q. We have an employee who comes to work and performs very well. Over the past several months I have come to learn that she is constantly receiving harassing calls and threats from her husband. We feel helpless and want to do something but we don’t offer employee assistance programs. What are our options? …

Complaining that schedule is discriminatory may be protected

02/01/2008

Not every complaint to a manager constitutes protected activity, but some do. If an employee complains about what she reasonably believes is discrimination—using language that should tip off her employer that she’s raising discrimination—the complaint is protected …

Tell supervisors: Absolutely no ethnic comments allowed

02/01/2008

What seems like a joke to members of the majority can be deeply hurtful to members of a minority. These days, that’s a particular issue in areas with a large concentration of people of Middle Eastern heritage—such as Michigan. As the “war on terror” shows no signs of abating, it makes sense to remind managers and supervisors to stay away from any comments on ethnicity …

Caro Carbide faces suit for sexual harassment, retaliation

02/01/2008

Since 1979, Donna Smith had worked as a shipping and receiving clerk for Caro Carbide Corp., a carbide machine shop in Troy. From 1988 forward, Smith claims co-worker Timothy Sylver displayed pornographic photos and made lewd gestures and comments toward her at work …

Mandatory arbitration agreements won’t always save you money

02/01/2008

Civil court cases can cost employers large amounts of time and money to resolve. Increasingly, employers have embraced arbitration as a way to curb these costs. But before you have all employees sign arbitration agreements, be sure to consider all the costs. You may find that arbitration isn’t the cost-effective strategy you think it is … 

Representing the company at EEOC or MDCR

02/01/2008

Q. A former employee has just filed a discrimination charge against us with both the EEOC and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR). We are a small company, and the owner has suggested that we respond to the charge ourselves without using an attorney, as we previously have done in unemployment compensation cases. Is there any reason we should not represent ourselves in this case? …

Stay out of court by establishing clear job-Posting rules

02/01/2008

If, like many organizations, you try to promote from within, make certain you have a clear process that someone in HR oversees. Otherwise, managers and supervisors who have specific people in mind for promotion may “tip off” some employees while leaving others in the dark, opening the possibility of discrimination claims …

Similar jobs with different pay may be EPA trap

02/01/2008

Here’s a trap that may catch you unaware unless you regularly compare jobs and who actually holds the positions. If two jobs are roughly comparable, but mostly women hold one of the jobs and mostly men hold the other and you pay one more than the other, you are asking for trouble …