Retaliation

EEOC doesn’t dig NYC excavation firm’s harassment

10/12/2016

The EEOC has sued the Laquila Group alleging it tolerated racial harassment of black employees and retaliated against at least one who complained.

Prepare to explain budget reason for job cuts

09/29/2016

If an employee alleges she lost her job during a reduction in force because of discrimination or retaliation, counter that claim by showing there were real economic reasons for letting her go.

Death threat? Yeah, that’s reason to quit

09/26/2016

It goes without saying that you can’t tolerate a supervisor who threatens to kill a subordinate. It’s not good enough to suspend him without pay and then let him come back after a lengthy leave.

Retaliation? Not if you can prove you would have fired anyone else

09/22/2016

Don’t despair if you need to fire the worker for reasons unrelated to her EEOC complaint.

Firing OK for cheating discovered during FMLA

09/15/2016

Employees who take FMLA leave are entitled to return to their old jobs or equivalent ones. But what if you learn during an employee’s time out on FMLA leave that she wasn’t everything you believed her to be?

Rudeness doesn’t always equal hostile environment

09/14/2016

Just because co-workers can be rude doesn’t mean the target of mean comments has a hostile work environment claim — especially when the comments are ambiguous, subject to interpretation and didn’t occur repeatedly.

Disabled employee’s accommodations a hassle?

09/07/2016

Don’t let annoyance over disability accommodations turn into retaliatory harassment.

Statements to licensing board aren’t retaliation

09/06/2016

Public employees who speak out about matters of public importance are protected from retaliation. But retaliation doesn’t include an employer’s complaint about the employee to a licensing board.

Legitimate discipline isn’t retaliation

09/06/2016

Some managers fear disciplining a worker who has complained about discrimination or other allegedly illegal conduct. Quite reasonably, they worry that punishing an employee after he or she complains may precipitate a retaliation claim.

Watch out for retaliation after employee has complained about bias or harassment

08/26/2016

Sure it’s frustrating when an employee gripes about general workplace problems. Don’t let that frustration spill over into retaliation. If the worker is making a good-faith complaint about alleged discrimination or harassment, he’s protected from retaliation.