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Retaliation

Add civility code to prevent avoidable lawsuits

07/09/2013
Do you have a comprehensive civility code? If not, consider adding one. A work environment contaminated by yelling, cursing and other uncivil behavior could lead to discrimination and retaliation lawsuits.

Beware firing for forwarding emails that might support retaliation claim

07/09/2013
Be careful before firing someone for violating email policies that prohibit forwarding company documents to a personal email account. If the forwarded documents support an EEOC or other discrimination complaint, and if the forwarding isn’t “disruptive,” firing the employee could trigger a retaliation claim.

Supreme Court backs employers in Title VII cases

07/09/2013
With two rulings on June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court handed major victories to employers, limiting liability for supervisory discrimination and setting a higher bar for employees who file retaliation lawsuits. Both decisions clarify long-standing Title VII questions. Both mean employers are less likely to lose potentially costly lawsuits.

Manager files complaint on behalf of subordinates? That’s protected activity

07/05/2013
Don’t assume that just because a manager is in charge of subordinates and champions their discrimination complaints as part of her job, she isn’t engaged in protected activity. It probably is, and any action you take against her can be the basis for a retaliation lawsuit.

Lab must pay $2.73 million to wrongly fired workers

06/27/2013
A San Francisco jury has awarded $2,729,037 to five former employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who alleged wrongful termination and breach of their employment contracts.

Keep all lawsuit settlements confidential!

06/27/2013
Here’s an important warning for employers that end discrimination or harassment lawsuits with settlement agreements that include a confidentiality clause: Keep those terms confidential and accessible only to those who absolutely need to know. Otherwise, you could wind up facing a retaliation lawsuit if word of the settlement leaks out …

Supreme Court sets stricter standard for retaliation

06/27/2013
The Supreme Court on June 24 ruled that employees can only win retaliation lawsuits if they can prove that their employer retaliated solely because of the employee’s protected activity. The 5-4 decision in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar was another significant victory for employers that should limit liability.

Insist that workers follow internal grievance process

06/26/2013
Do you require employees to use an internal grievance policy when they have a complaint about working conditions? That policy may apply to re­­tal­­i­­ation claims too, even if the em­­ployee has been fired. Failing to use the proc­­ess may cancel the right to sue.

Court: Vague EEOC complaint isn’t protected

06/26/2013
By now, you no doubt understand the dangers of retaliating against someone who has filed an EEOC discrimination complaint. Some workers think all it takes to stop legitimate discipline is to file with the agency. But courts are losing patience with workers who use this tactic.

Workplace romance, by itself, is not illegal

06/07/2013
While workplace romances can cause all kinds of problems, it isn’t necessarily illegal discrimination if a supervisor favors his girlfriend. That’s true even if others feel they are being passed over or otherwise treated poorly because of the affair.