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Discrimination / Harassment

Some manager socializing could spark bias lawsuits

07/01/2005
Issue: Supervisors may feel more comfortable with employees from one gender or the other.
Risk: If they allow those relationships to affect their employment decisions, supervisors could run afoul of …

When customers cross the line

06/02/2005
Employers can be liable for harassment of workers not only by other workers, but also by customers. But often, managers who’d have no qualms about investigating—or firing—a harassing co-worker are nervous about jeopardizing a customer relationship.

Review all handouts for legal bombshells

06/01/2005
You can’t personally review every book, video or training material that supervisors distribute to employees. But it’s wise to review as much of those materials as possible for appropriateness and legally …

Don’t allow managers to issue hasty termination letters

06/01/2005
If you haven’t already, establish a policy that says HR and/or other senior executives must review supervisors’ termination proposals. The goal: Prevent supervisors from making legally dangerous firings out of anger, …

Don’t punish religious principles for non-job-related reasons

06/01/2005
Federal law says you must accommodate employees’ religious practices or beliefs unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the employer.
The key question: What’s considered an “undue hardship” …

Encourage employee language skills the legally safe way

06/01/2005
Nearly half of employers say they make employee diversity a competitive selling point for their organizations, according to a new Novations survey of 1,780 HR execs and senior managers.
Still, …

Female employees can sue for ‘potty parity’

06/01/2005
Don’t make different bathroom-break rules for the different sexes. Case in point: A manufacturer’s new factory had only one restroom, which was designed for men. Female employees could use that restroom …

Build an impenetrable age-bias shield

05/01/2005
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent landmark age-bias ruling, you should schedule time in the coming weeks to review your organization’s policies, from hiring to compensation and layoffs, to find …

Base bilingual hiring decisions on language skill, not ethnicity

05/01/2005
Like many employers, you may have legitimate business reasons for hiring bilingual employees. Federal anti-discrimination laws allow you to target bilingual employees, as long as you use their language skills, not …

Smaller raise can count as ‘adverse action’ that triggers lawsuit

05/01/2005
Make sure your employee evaluation process includes clear-cut instructions and guidance for managers on how to link performance with compensation.