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Discrimination / Harassment

National security trumps national-Origin claims

07/01/2007

Even in a post-Sept. 11, 2001, environment, employers know they can’t use national origin or religion as an excuse to discharge or refuse to hire employees.

Accommodation doesn’t need to match employee’s request

07/01/2007

Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on their religion and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for religious practices. But the requirement isn’t absolute …

State’s whistle-Blower retaliation law may reach NJ companies with foreign subsidiaries

07/01/2007

New Jersey companies with operations or facilities in foreign countries can find themselves being sued in-state, even if the alleged whistle-blowers work overseas …

Racial gangster jokes cost Perth Amboy police $1.9 million

07/01/2007

A Middlesex County jury awarded $1.9 million to Perth Amboy police officer Guadelupe Munoz for racial insults and jokes he suffered after becoming the department’s first Mexican-American officer in 2000 …

NJLAD now prohibits gender-Identity and expression discrimination

07/01/2007

Last December, the New Jersey Legislature amended the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) to protect people from adverse treatment due to “gender identity or expression” …

Mothers and other caregivers get EEOC protection

07/01/2007

The EEOC just issued guidelines stating that one’s status as a family member can’t be considered in employment decisions. The agency says the guidelines address “family-responsibility discrimination.” They draw on earlier theories about so-called “gender-plus” discrimination …

Appraisal must be tied to adverse action to be retaliation

07/01/2007

Supervisors often feel as if they are walking on eggshells after an employee has filed a discrimination complaint. After all, just about anything they do after a complaint has been filed could be seen as retaliation. If supervisors ask what to do, tell them this: Treat the employee as you would any other …

Some computer jobs exempt from EPA/FLSA protection

07/01/2007

Because of a quirk in the way the Equal Pay Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act have been amended over the years, female workers classified as exempt computer professionals under the FLSA can’t sue their employers for EPA violations …

Be prepared to explain each promotion decision

07/01/2007

One of the most important factors in promotion discrimination cases is also one of the easiest to control. The courts may not care that your decisions on whom to promote were perfectly rational; they want proof that you used the same factors for each candidate, flawed or not …

When same manager hires and fires, it’s unlikely to be discrimination

07/01/2007

The New York Human Rights Law, like Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, makes it illegal to fire an employee because of his or her race. Both laws also recognize that it’s unlikely that a manager who is aware of an employee’s race when hiring would turn around and fire the same employee because of race …