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Discrimination / Harassment

If you don’t have a policy, you don’t have a defense

06/01/2007

If you don’t have a sexual harassment policy (or if no one pays attention to the one you have), watch out! You’ll have to pay compensatory damages if an employee can prove he or she was sexually harassed—and you also could pay punitive damages …

Act fast to remove supervisors who make racist comments

06/01/2007
Adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for managers or supervisors who make racist comments. Those caught making derogatory or discriminatory comments (à la Don Imus) should be promptly shut down. If you don’t fire or at least remove them immediately, their words may come back to hurt the company …

You can enforce a reasonable dress code

06/01/2007
Have your employees lost a sense of appropriate workplace attire? If so, remember that you can enforce a reasonable dress code. Just stay clear of banning religious dress that doesn’t pose a safety hazard—that might amount to religious discrimination. On the other hand, you don’t have to allow the same employee to sport the religious (and other) symbols of multiple faiths …

Train managers and supervisors: No humiliation allowed

06/01/2007

While some may think it’s all in good fun, no employee should be the butt of bad jokes or other potentially embarrassing and humiliating conduct. Once started, such behavior often takes on a life of its own. It then becomes difficult to stop …

Big ruling: Supreme Court limits scope of pay-discrimination lawsuits

05/29/2007

The U.S. Supreme Court handed employers a major victory this week by clarifying that workers who claim pay discrimination must file their complaints within 180 days of the alleged offense. But this ruling could, in the short run, lead to a spike in pay-bias claims.

Height and weight bias: A growing protected status?

05/22/2007

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are debating legislation that would make it the second state (after Michigan) to prohibit job discrimination based on a person’s height or weight. Passage of the bill in Massachusetts could spark interest in such laws in other states.

Screening candidates: To Google or not to Google?

05/15/2007

More HR professionals are turning to search engines and social networking sites to dig beyond a candidate’s résumé. But the benefit of uncovering such red flags can carry some big legal risks. Here’s how to Google for candidates in the most legally safe way …

The danger of hiring ‘Best of the worst’ from résumé pile

05/15/2007

When hiring, you probably use the job description to establish the minimum requirements for the position. But what if no one in the applicant pool meets those minimum requirements? …

Ban smoking or ban smokers? How far can you legally go?

05/15/2007

Thirty states and the District of Columbia have established “lifestyle discrimination” laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against employees or applicants based on the person’s off-duty use of tobacco or participation in other legal though controversial activities …

It’s important to track discipline by type and degree

05/01/2007

Expect a call from an employment lawyer when a disgruntled employee is fired. If the axed employee belongs to a protected class (race, sex, disability, etc.), expect more than a call …