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Employment Law

Employee can’t physically assault alleged harasser unless she is in danger

05/16/2018
When a customer harasses an employee, the employer may be held liable for allowing a hostile work environment if it knew about the potential problem. However, the employee has a responsibility to report the incident.

Beware even appearance of pregnancy bias

05/16/2018
Be careful how you react when an employee announces she is expecting. In the end, the employer won this pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, but defending against it cost huge legal fees and took up hundreds of hours.

Never base hiring decisions on stereotypes

05/16/2018
Here’s an important warning for managers with the power to influence hiring decisions: Repeating stereotypes about applicants invites discrimination lawsuits, as a recent case shows.

Alleged anti-gay bias at University of Minnesota – Duluth attracts more litigation

05/16/2018
Last month we reported that former University of Minnesota – Duluth women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller had finally prevailed in a years-long sex discrimination lawsuit. Now two more former employees are alleging the university discriminated against them on the basis of their sexual orientation.

NLRB wants to settle troublesome joint employer issue with new rule

05/15/2018
The National Labor Relations Board is considering enacting a rule to address the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.

Target pays $3.9 mil to settle background check lawsuit

05/15/2018
Retail giant Target has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a long-running discrimination suit alleging its policy of not hiring people with criminal convictions disproportionately affects black and Hispanic applicants.

DOL: Expect new overtime pay rule in 2019

05/14/2018
The U.S. Department of Labor plans to wait until 2019 to release new proposed overtime rules for white-collar employees. The announcement, buried deep inside the Trump administration’s spring regulatory agenda document, merely states that the DOL will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on “01/00/2019″—in other words, sometime next year.

Cost of ‘younger and fresh’ staff: $2.85 million

05/10/2018
Staffing your store or restaurant with only young people crashes hard against federal and state laws that forbid age discrimination in hiring and promotions. And that can be expensive. In fact, it just cost the national restaurant chain Seasons 52 more than $2.85 million.

Play ball! But prevent legal risks at company activities

05/09/2018
Say your marketing director breaks his leg at an after-hours employee softball game. Or your sales rep claims she was harassed at an after-work party. Is your organization liable for such off-premises activities? It depends to what degree you “sponsored” those events. Here are four ways to steer clear of liability …

Training on implicit bias has pluses—and pitfalls to avoid

05/09/2018
Bias plays a part in all discrimination, ranging from race relations to gender and disability stereotypes. Training on implicit or unconscious bias training—if poorly implemented—may backfire, leaving the workplace more divided than it was before.