Retaliation

Employee has complained about discrimination? He still has to follow all legitimate rules

02/22/2012

After an employee files an EEOC or internal discrimination complaint, it’s natural for him to worry about retaliation. Every move by a supervisor or HR will be filtered through that lens. You need to be on guard against retaliation, too.

Stolen TV, soiled chair mean 2 trips to court for coroner

02/15/2012

It’s no wonder Kane County Coroner Chuck West decided not to run for re-election this year. In addition to facing criminal charges that he stole a dead man’s television, West is being sued for retaliation by his second-in-command.

Handle serial complainer with the same professional skill you use with everyone else

02/15/2012

Handle serial complainers as you do one-time complainers. Investigate the claims, fixing legitimate gripes and rejecting all the rest. If the chronic complainer sues, chances are the court will realize that you’ve been dealing with someone who is habitually crabby.

Franco’s first director role: a legal comedy

02/14/2012

What’s weirder: Actor James Franco earning a D in a drama class, or a NYU professor alleging he got fired for giving Franco the lousy grade?

Court rules on early FMLA protection: Never fire for requesting leave in advance

02/13/2012

The 11th Circuit has ruled for the first time on an important FMLA question, providing greater protection for employees who are not yet eligible for FMLA leave but who request leave that will start once they become eligible.

Subpar employee fired for good reason? He can still sue for FMLA retaliation

02/03/2012

Many employers don’t realize that they can still be sued for FMLA retaliation by a terrible employee that they fired for perfectly legitimate business reasons if there’s a possibility he was punished for requesting or taking FMLA leave.

Be sure to document the effective date of all new disciplinary policies

02/02/2012

When you change a disciplinary policy, make sure you document exactly when the change went into effect. That way, an employee who is punished more severely can’t point to the earlier disciplinary actions as evidence he was unfairly singled out.

Reverse bias suit heats up La Marque Fire Department

01/31/2012

The former chief of the La Marque Fire Department is suing for race discrimination and retaliation after a series of run-ins with the city manager over alleged harassment within the department.

What counts as illegal retaliation? DOL explains

01/23/2012

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued three new fact sheets that help clarify what types of employer actions rise to the level of illegal retaliation under the FMLA and FLSA.

San Francisco janitors, former employer settle race-bias suit

01/20/2012

A group of seven San Francisco janitors will split $180,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit that alleged ABM Industries discriminated against Hispanic employees and retaliated against those who filed discrimination complaints with the EEOC.