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Retaliation

Can we cut our legal risk by offering unconditional reinstatement?

02/12/2009

Q. If an employee is suing our company, what are the benefits of offering her job back while the litigation is ongoing?

Protected speech can be used to prove retaliation

02/12/2009

Government employees who speak out on matters of public importance and are punished for doing so may be able to sue for unlawful retaliation. They may even be able to make those claims years later—if they can show a connection between speaking out and an adverse employment action.

Double-check for signs of retaliation whenever workers complain of discrimination

02/12/2009

Here’s how routine discrimination claims turn ugly fast: A supervisor or manager gets it in her head that she’s going to punish an employee for complaining. While it’s hard for employees to win most discrimination cases, it’s relatively easy for them to win retaliation claims.

FMLA protects workers before they’re eligible

02/12/2009

An Illinois court has ruled that employees who request FMLA leave before they’ve met the eligibility thresholds are protected from retaliation. An employer can’t, for example, fire such an employee because he says he will soon be taking FMLA leave and perhaps undergo expensive medical treatment.

Harassing dentist strikes nerve among employees

02/12/2009

A Chicago dentist has agreed to pay $462,500 to settle a harassment and retaliation complaint filed by 18 employees. The complaint alleges employees were subjected to sexual harassment and required to join the Church of Scientology as a condition of employment.

How not to fire complaining employee: Use pretext, don’t document real reasons

02/02/2009

Before firing any employee who has filed a harassment complaint, make sure your reasons are solid—and extremely well documented. That means checking to make sure supervisors followed company rules. Ensure that other employees with similar records were also fired. And be sure all documentation you are relying on was clearly created before the discrimination complaint.

Texas town settles retaliation lawsuit with firefighter

02/02/2009

The city of Grand Prairie recently agreed to settle for $150,000 in a retaliation suit brought by a firefighter who says top brass objected when he tried to protect a co-worker from harassment.

Avoiding employee lawsuits: 5 lessons from the court

01/27/2009
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Stick with objective assessments to ensure your processes aren’t swayed by bias

01/27/2009

Assessing employee performance or potential using subjective measures is one of the fastest ways to wind up in court. Employers that stick with objective, carefully tailored assessments are much less likely to lose bias lawsuits because there’s little chance for hidden bias to creep into the process.

Understand the North Carolina Persons with Disabilities Protection Act

01/27/2009

North Carolina law has long protected disabled North Carolinians from discrimination. The North Carolina Persons with Disabilities Protection Act was originally called the Handicapped Persons Protection Act and became law in 1985. The act is broad in scope, and many of its protections apply directly to employment matters.