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Discrimination / Harassment

Religious accommodations: Know when to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

05/01/2006

Employers need to keep their eye on a growing trend: a groundswell of support for more freedom to practice religion in the workplace. And support for the movement is coming from some unexpected quarters: the U.S. Supreme Court and a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators …

EEO-1 compliance: Prepare to comply with the new EEO-1

05/01/2006

In an effort to monitor employment of minorities and females in the work force, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires certain employers to complete and file an Employer Information Report, commonly called an EEO-1 report, by Sept. 30 each year …

Biggest Investigation Error: Skipping the Follow-Up Phase

05/01/2006

Too many HR people close the book on harassment investigations too early. By failing to check if harassment has flared up again, you open the organization to further liability …

Heed the Legal Risks of Employee Weight-Loss Programs

05/01/2006

Forcing your well-meaning health-improvement plan could backfire. Discrimination and privacy issues could derail your goal. Immunize your program against potential legal ills using these five tips …

4 employment law lessons from the courts

05/01/2006
Supervisors can learn a lot from others’ mistakes, particularly when it comes to employment law issues. Here are four recent court decisions that provide lessons on how supervisors can keep their organizations (and themselves) out of legal hot water.

Do you need a music policy for the ‘iPod generation’?

05/01/2006

The advent of MP3 players, satellite radio and Internet-based music makes it easy to rock and roll at work. Such distractions can reduce employee productivity and even create create legal risks. Establish a music/noise policy before it becomes a problem …

EEOC action spurs longer recordkeeping

04/01/2006

If you think that you can forget about a discrimination dispute just because the employee doesn’t file an EEOC complaint within the allotted time, you may be in for a surprise. As a new court ruling shows, the EEOC can sue your organization years, or even decades, after the alleged discrimination took place …

Clarify reasons for differences in employees’ pay

04/01/2006

When it comes to compensation systems, KISS is the rule. If you keep your pay system simple, you’re less likely to have to explain yourself in court, as the following case shows …

Beware Discrimination Risks of Promoting ‘Acting’ Supervisors

04/01/2006

Although it may be tempting to let unproven employees "try out" a promotion to see if they’ll work out, be careful of the hidden legal risks. If you treat the acting supervisor differently than other promoted employees, you could end up on the wrong end of a discrimination suit …

Train Supervisors to Avoid Double-Meaning Words

04/01/2006

A federal jury has awarded a Tyson Foods supervisor $1 million, illustrating again that preventing racial discrimination is much cheaper than trying to litigate your way out of a preventable lawsuit. Take this opportunity to remind managers that what they say does matter.