Issue: Courts are seeing a spike in discrimination claims involving people of the same race. Risk: Some supervisors wrongly ignore same-race complaints, believing, for example, that “blacks can’t discriminate against …
Issue: Whether employees who resign have the same right to file harassment lawsuits as those who are fired. Risk/benefit: A new Supreme Court ruling says “Yes,” quitters can sue. But …
Issue: Minor squabbles between employees and supervisors escalating into illegal “discipline.” Risk: If left unchecked, they can escalate, resulting in discrimination or retaliation claims. Action: Use the following case …
Your employment policies should never leave employees guessing about how they must comply. That’s why it’s vital to use concrete terms in your policies that discuss employee behaviors and …
If your organization offers health insurance to retired employees, an important new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling says you can reduce or eliminate those benefits after the ex-employee becomes eligible …
The U.S. Supreme Court last month set a four-year statute of limitations in so-called “Section 1981” discrimination cases. While most employees file discrimination cases under Title VII of the Civil …
THE LAW. Job interviews are a legal minefield for HR people and managers. Your questions must avoid stepping on federal and state equal employment laws that ban discrimination on the basis …
A hospital fired an ER doctor for violating its gender-specific dress code. The doctor had continued to wear nail polish, cosmetics and “visible female undergarments” after being warned that his appearance …
Even if your state or local laws protect employees based on their “marital status” or “family responsibilities,” that doesn’t mean parent/employees can create their own schedule. You can still …
Glass-ceiling lawsuits, in which women or minorities claim they’re prevented advancement beyond a certain point, are tough to prove, but not impossible. If an employee can show a pattern of discrimination, …