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Retaliation

Be ready to come down hard on managers and supervisors who use ethnic slurs

12/15/2009

Employers that let bosses get away with ethnic slurs risk having an unsympathetic jury decide whether and how severely to punish them. If you don’t send a strong message to those who use slurs that such behavior is unacceptable, you risk creating a corporate culture that encourages more of the same—and you may also empower supervisors to retaliate against the targeted employee.

When it comes to retaliation fears, don’t sweat the small stuff—because courts won’t

12/11/2009

Sometimes it seems as though anything an employer does after an employee complains about discrimination can get turned into a retaliation case. It’s not actually that bad. The fact is, it’s only retaliation if it would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining in the first place. Minor workplace changes don’t count.

Employees who don’t meet whistle-blower law requirements still have legal protection

12/11/2009

The Illinois Whistleblower Act says that employers may not retaliate against employees who disclose to a government or law enforcement agency information about alleged violations of state or federal laws and regulations. But what about employees who don’t go to an agency, but raise their concerns internally?

Beware retaliation suit if lateral transfer harms career

12/11/2009

While employers generally are free to direct their workforces in reasonable ways to meet operational needs, they can’t retaliate against employees for complaining about possible discrimination. While a mere reassignment to another department in a retail store isn’t retaliation, a transfer or series of transfers that limits future opportunities may be.

After FMLA leave, don’t presume future needs

12/09/2009

Here’s a problem to warn supervisors and managers about: When an employee with a disability returns from FMLA leave, don’t assume she can’t do her job or will need more time off. If or when the time comes, then you can decide how to handle time off. Until then, assume all is well.

Take sexual harassment complaints seriously—even if they involve past lovers

12/09/2009

Some employers wrongly believe that when co-workers end what was a consensual sexual relationship, one employee can’t later claim sexual harassment for post-breakup conduct. The dubious assumption: Any subsequent unpleasant contact between the employees was probably based on jealousy or anger over the broken relationship rather than “on account of sex.” That’s not always true.

Tell harassment victims: Report any retaliation

12/03/2009

Even an exhaustive investigation into sexual harassment allegations may not provide enough information to conclusively determine whether harassment actually occurred. That doesn’t mean you can forget the whole thing. Instead, you must explain to the employee who reported the problem what steps you did take. And you must urge her to report any action she believes is retaliation.

Beware retaliation suits even after employee’s gone

12/03/2009

If you think your liability ends when an employee leaves, think again. Employers can still be liable for retaliation if the employee complained about bias before she left and now claims you withheld compensation.

Worker complained of bias? Discipline with care

12/03/2009

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for doing so, even if it turns out that their discrimination claims don’t hold water. The idea is that employees shouldn’t have to fear reprisal if they complain internally about discrimination or go to the EEOC. If one of your employees files a discrimination complaint, be careful how you discipline him for any workplace rule-breaking.

Calm is key when handling chronic complainers

11/24/2009

Some employees are natural complainers. They can and will find something to gripe about, no matter what. If one of your employees fits that mold and files incessant EEOC or internal complaints, how you handle those can mean the difference between a mildly annoying pain in the neck and a lost lawsuit. How? Chances are, chronic complainers won’t be able to make a solid case that they’ve suffered discrimination. But if you decide to punish her, she may have a retaliation lawsuit.