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Discrimination / Harassment

The new legal risk of overworking bilingual employees

03/01/2005
Issue: Overburdening employees because of their language abilities.
Risk: Relying too heavily on bilingual employees could spark a national-origin bias lawsuit.
Action: Remind supervisors to be on guard against …

Review workplace treatment of Hispanic employees

03/01/2005
Reason: The federal government is reaching out to Hispanic people to make them more aware of their workplace rights. Latest effort: The EEOC launched a new Spanish-language version of its Web …

Jobs must be ‘virtually identical’ (not similar) to bring equal-pay claim

02/01/2005
Don’t be afraid to set different salary levels for employees who hold the same title. Different pay for the same job title is fine as long as you can prove that …

Hiding behind staffing agency won’t protect you; temps can sue, too

02/01/2005
Don’t treat temporary workers like second-class citizens when it comes to complying with employment laws. Contrary to popular belief, your organization isn’t protected from job-discrimination lawsuits simply because the workers affected …

Focus on concrete qualifications in hiring, not esoteric ‘chemistry’

02/01/2005
Employers “hire for fit” all the time. But sometimes, a fine line exists between basing decisions on job-related qualifications and the employer’s “gut feelings” about the applicant. The problem: That gut …

New rules make 401(k) plans easier to administer

02/01/2005
Your organization’s 401(k) plan should be a bit less complicated to administer in the coming years, thanks to new Treasury Department regulations.
The new rules, the first major revision of …

Overrelying on employee referrals? Beware of the legal risks

02/01/2005
Employee-referral programs have become one of the most successful and least expensive recruiting strategies. But even with their popularity, employee-referral programs can be double-edged swords.
Relying too much on employee …

No need to accommodate those who want to work overtime

01/01/2005
You’re required to reasonably accommodate employees when their religious practices conflict with their job requirements. But what if an employee asks for an accommodation just so he can work overtime? Must …

Probe all complaints; even positive review can trigger retaliation claim

01/01/2005
Can supervisors be guilty of retaliation if they give a mostly positive performance review? Yes, it’s possible.
As the following case shows, if an employee views any part of her …

‘Equal-opportunity harasser’ defense may not save you in court

01/01/2005
You may think that if an employee subjects both male and female co-workers to the same offensive conduct, employees of neither sex can file a sexual-harassment lawsuit.
In past cases, …