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Retaliation

Warn bosses: No criticism for filing bias complaint

04/15/2010

Now’s a good time to remind supervisors and managers that they must keep a cool head if an employee threatens to take a complaint to the EEOC or the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Angrily accusing the employee of insubordination or disloyalty will probably be viewed as retaliation for engaging in protected activity.

Feel free to impose legitimate discipline on employee, even if she’s on FMLA leave

04/15/2010

Perhaps you have faced this situation: An employee is about to be disciplined, but suddenly applies for FMLA leave. She begins her leave while the discipline is pending. Do you have to wait to punish her? Not if you can clearly show that the punishment is for legitimate reasons and not related to her FMLA leave.

State code protects only those who officially report abuse

04/15/2010
Texas nursing home employees who report alleged patient abuse to state authorities are protected from retaliation under the Texas Health and Safety Code—but only if they formally report the problem.

Don’t pile on reasons for firing; you’re spoiling for retaliation fight in court

04/15/2010

Let’s say you’ve got one very good reason to fire an employee, plus several other halfway decent reasons. Why not wrap them all into one big package of employee shortcomings when it comes time to show her the door? Because such overkill could play badly in court if the dismissed employee ever sues you.

Beware retaliation charge following transfer

04/13/2010

Employees who are transferred to other positions after complaining about discrimination could end up collecting big from their employers. That’s true even if the transfer doesn’t result in a base pay cut or lost benefits. Reason: The law lets juries punish employers for retaliation based on factors such as lost prestige, overtime pay and other, less tangible benefits.

Pros and cons of creating applicant ‘blacklist’

04/12/2010

Employers typically don’t want to hire applicants who haven’t succeeded elsewhere. So they sometimes create a blanket “no-hire” rule for applicants who aren’t eligible for rehire by their former employers. Such a policy can give you cover against possible retaliation complaints. But if you’re tempted to draft such a policy, be careful: Make sure you enforce the rule uniformly.

Check all discipline to spot, stop retaliation

04/05/2010

When an employee assists in a co-worker’s EEOC case or lawsuit, employers can’t punish the employee who helped. That would be retaliation. If there’s a short gap between the assistance and the punishment, watch out for a retaliation lawsuit. That’s why HR should always review disciplinary actions with an eye toward making sure there’s no retaliation.

Whistle-blower flagging safety violation? Don’t shoot the messenger by retaliating

03/26/2010

Generally, Pennsylvania is an at-will employment state where employers can fire employees for any nondiscriminatory reason. But Pennsylvania also allows lawsuits for wrongful discharge based on public-policy concerns. Those public policies include the right not to be fired for reporting company safety violations that could harm the public.

If no job loss, no damages for whistle-blower

03/26/2010
The New Jersey Superior Court has reversed a large jury award previously won by a whistle-blower because the employer never fired the employee or forced him to quit.

Catch fishy FMLA requests with the 3 R’s

03/22/2010

Employees have learned to play the FMLA game quite well in the 17 years since the law was passed. In this new case, an “attendance-challenged” employee was denied extra vacation leave for her wedding. So she submitted an FMLA leave request for those same dates. Hmmmm … smell fishy?