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Discrimination / Harassment

Woodmen Life settles harassment suit for $285,000

09/01/2007

Lincoln, NE-based Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society will pay $285,000 plus a $50,000 annuity to Louella Rollins, a Pittsburgh-area woman who served as state manager for Woodmen in Pennsylvania. Rollins claimed that a man she supervised complained openly about having to work for a woman. She said the employee also grabbed and touched her …

Train interviewers to not comment on employees’ promotion chances

09/01/2007

Unless they clearly understand they must treat all job candidates with the utmost respect and stick to job-related questions, supervisors inexperienced in HR matters can turn a simple hiring or promotion into a lawsuit …

Man claims sexy co-Worker caused anxiety and stress

09/01/2007

A Lucent Technologies employee sought reasonable accommodation under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination after claiming a female employee sexually harassed him and retaliated against him for reporting her behavior. Among other things, the man alleges the co-worker touched his head with her breasts on one occasion, made five sexually suggestive comments over a period of several months, and wore tight-fitting, sexually provocative clothing …

Teachers’ age discrimination suit doesn’t make the grade

09/01/2007

A court has dismissed three Livingston teachers’ age discrimination lawsuit for lack of merit. The teachers filed suit under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination after they were transferred to different schools late in their careers …

LAD: ‘Reasonable’ accommodation does not mean ‘Permanent’

09/01/2007

Many employees have some type of medical condition or disability that affects their ability to perform their jobs. Employers need to understand their obligations to disabled employees and the rights granted to disabled employees under New Jersey law. A decision recently handed down by the New Jersey Supreme Court clarifies exactly what obligation employers have to accommodate disabled employees under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination …

Catch reverse discrimination before it becomes federal case

09/01/2007

Is your organization going through a transition period marked by discharges and new hires? If so, take a quick look at your pre- and post-transition work force composition. If the diversity of your work force has changed dramatically, you may need to consider the possibility of a federal lawsuit hitting you next. If this sounds familiar, rethink your strategy before it’s too late …

EEOC ruled against you? Don’t simply settle

09/01/2007

In EEOC hearings, employers get a chance to defend their actions, and the agency often concludes that the employer did no wrong. But what about instances when the agency sides with the employee? Should you immediately accept defeat and settle the case? Not if you’re settling because you’re worried that the EEOC decision might become part of a federal lawsuit …

Be prepared to back up cost of religious accommodations

09/01/2007

You can’t just use a blanket statement (e.g., “granting time off will be expensive”) to deny a request for religious accommodation. You must be prepared to show the actual cost of the accommodation. That’s true even if giving someone the Sabbath day off means having to hire another employee to cover the time …

Hair today or gone tomorrow: It’s up to employee to mention religion

09/01/2007

When it comes to accommodating religious practices, employers aren’t required to be clairvoyant. If an employee wants you to accommodate a religious practice or objects to a work rule because it interferes with his or her right to practice religion, the employee has to let you know how practicing the religion precludes following the rule …

The long and short of it: Do different grooming policies equal discrimination?

09/01/2007

Q. We have a company policy requiring male employees to keep their hair cut short. One worker says we can’t force him to cut his hair because we don’t tell female workers to do the same. Is this true? …