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Employment Law

Five women leave Harrisburg, Pa. TV station in four months

08/01/2018
Harrisburg television station WHTM ABC27 is the target of a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission complaint that alleges Robert Bee, the station’s general manager, created a hostile work environment for women.

Regular safety complaints could spell legal trouble

08/01/2018
Be careful if a worker files a steady stream of safety complaints. If those complaints are followed by an accident or incident and the worker is disciplined for something seemingly unrelated, he may still be able to make a whistleblower complaint.

When planning layoffs, conduct audit to ensure there’s no age discrimination

08/01/2018
Calculate the average age of the workers you plan to retain and compare it to the workers you plan to terminate.

It’s tough to prove bias if the manager who hired was also the one who fired

08/01/2018
A manager who knew of someone’s protected characteristic would not have hired that applicant and then turn around and fired the same individual because of that very protected characteristic. A biased manager would never have hired her in the first place.

When discussing ADA accommodations, track every offer and counter-offer

08/01/2018
If a worker refuses to accept an offered accommodation, the employer is free to end the accommodations process—which may even mean the employee loses her job.

Anti-harassment policy alone isn’t enough

08/01/2018
It goes without saying that every employer should have a robust policy prohibiting sexual harassment. But just having a policy isn’t enough.

#MeToo roils another show biz venue: the concert hall

07/31/2018
The longtime concertmaster for the Cleveland Orchestra has been suspended following allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

Long gap between complaint and discharge kills case

07/30/2018
Employees who engage in protected activity such as complaining about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for doing so. But that protection doesn’t last forever.

Avoid deviating from past disciplinary process

07/30/2018
When you have a disciplinary process in place and have used it before, don’t deviate from it unless you encounter truly extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, you may face a discrimination claim.

Court outlines three categories of disability associational discrimination

07/30/2018
A California appeals court has outlined three types of illegal disability associational discrimination. Employers should take note and make sure managers and supervisors understand that they cannot use those reasons to justify not hiring, sidelining or terminating employees who care for or are related to disabled persons.