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Employment Law

Good evaluation, raise don’t invalidate retaliation claim

06/01/2007

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier to charge retaliation for complaining about alleged discrimination, the courts have been flooded with new cases probing the limits of the ruling. The new test is whether an employer’s action would “dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination”…

Under Ohio disability discrimination law, employees can go directly to court

06/01/2007

Most federal discrimination laws require employees who think they have been wronged to file a complaint with the EEOC or their state’s equivalent agency before going to federal court. But that’s not the case when it comes to disability discrimination cases brought under the Ohio Revised Code anti-discrimination provisions …

Employee shot on the job loses intentional tort case

06/01/2007

A U.S. District judge dismissed an intentional injury suit against Daimler-Chrysler AG and the security firm Wackenhut Corp. The suit was brought by an employee injured in a shooting at the company’s Toledo North assembly plant in 2005 …

Whistle-Blower fired over fire

06/01/2007

An Ohio employer got burned after it fired an employee two days after he told an insurance inspector about a malfunctioning fire alarm …

Jeff Wyler dealerships hit for $2.3 million in EEOC decree

06/01/2007

Eleven Cincinnati auto dealerships owned by Jeff Wyler will pay $2.3 million to a class of 39 women for refusing to hire them because of their gender …

Alcoa workers wonder who will protect them from their union

06/01/2007

Employees of Alcoa’s truck wheel manufacturing plant in Cleveland have filed unfair labor practice charges against their union with the National Labor Relations Board …

Aliens and postmarked babies shoot down manager’s case

06/01/2007

The manager of a Dave & Buster’s Restaurant in Cincinnati lost his age-discrimination claim because the case was ruled primarily circumstantial by a U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio …

The court affirms: Your employee has the right to an attorney

06/01/2007

An Ohio appeals court significantly expanded employees’ rights recently when it upheld a fired employee’s right to trial after her employer terminated her because she threatened to talk to her attorney …

Attorney’s letter? Proceed with plans, but back up decision

06/01/2007

Employees who realize their jobs are in peril sometimes think pulling out the “lawsuit card” will save them. They’ll meet with an attorney, who will try to head you off with a threatened lawsuit. It sometimes succeeds because it casts the potential discharge in a sinister new light—as retaliation for threatening to sue. Here’s how to counter it and still carry through with your planned action …

Train managers to adopt poker face when facing complaint

06/01/2007

To avoid triggering retaliation lawsuits, train managers and supervisors on how to react to a complaint. First and foremost, explain that all complaints should be received professionally and without any apparent display of disappointment or emotion. Remind them: No comment allowed …