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Discrimination / Harassment

Was that sexual harassment or just boorish behavior?

09/25/2018
It takes more than a few crude comments to create a sexually hostile work environment.

Courts appreciate employers’ basic fairness

09/25/2018
Employers that treat employees fairly seldom lose lawsuits. Judges and juries understand that employers have a business to run, but appreciate it when they try to do the right thing under difficult circumstances. Here’s an example of how fairness won out.

Keillor’s son among latest forced to leave PHC

09/25/2018
Three long-time employees of “A Prairie Home Companion” have been terminated in what could be continued fallout from alleged sexual harassment by the radio show’s long-time host Garrison Keillor.

Walmart sued for pregnancy bias

09/25/2018
Walmart violated federal law when it refused to accommodate workers’ pregnancy-related medical restrictions, the EEOC charged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 21.

Disloyal executive? Claw back pay from ‘faithless servant’

09/24/2018
Employers faced with a high-level “disloyal” employee may be able to recover compensation and costs associated with litigating that employee’s disloyalty in court. Here are two recent examples of such “claw backs.”

After harassment, court takes bite out of Stellar Dental

09/24/2018
A New York state court has ordered Buffalo-based Stellar Dental Care to pay more than $200,000 after it failed to address severe sexual harassment by a dental assistant.

Before discharge, audit disciplinary practices to detect possible pattern of discrimination

09/24/2018
If you find an evaluation that’s as negative or worse than that of the employee you are about to terminate, and that person wasn’t fired, ask: Do the two employees belong to different protected classes?

When alleged harasser holds high rank, take extra care to thoroughly investigate

09/24/2018
If a worker comes to HR with a complaint that someone has sent him sexually oriented images, take that report seriously—especially if the alleged sender is a supervisor.

Not all shift change denials are retaliation

09/24/2018
Courts have long held that, after an employee files a discrimination complaint, it may be retaliation to change her shift to punish her. But what if the complaining employee requests a shift change and the employer denies that change?

Turning a deaf ear to insults: A $500,000 mistake

09/20/2018
Your managers probably know it’s unlawful to discriminate in hiring and firing based on a person’s age or disability. But they may not realize that same law makes it unlawful to verbally harass workers based on those protected characteristics.