Retaliation

Aldi warehouse parent company will pay $60,000 for bias

06/07/2011

Eclipse Advantage, Inc.—a transportation, logistics and distribution management company—has agreed to pay $60,000 to settle an EEOC racial harassment and retaliation lawsuit.

How not to handle FMLA leave (Hint: Following the law isn’t optional!)

06/07/2011

Sure, it’s inconvenient when employees need to take FMLA leave. But you can’t tweak FMLA policies just to suit your operational needs. If you try it, prepare to get out your checkbook. Your employee will have a slam-dunk case to bring to court.

Reconsidering decision? Act fast to fix it

06/03/2011

Here’s a tip for employers that make snap decisions and then quickly reconsider: Don’t hesitate to fix the problem; that could convince a court to toss out a lawsuit.

Can you sue for harassment if no one actually harasses you? 5th Circuit opens the door a crack

06/01/2011

Here’s a new worry for employers: More and more employees who aren’t being directly targeted for harassment are suing anyway. They claim that the fact that others may be experiencing sexual, racial or other forms of harassment means that they, in effect, are also victims. Some of those claims actually succeed.

Don’t blacklist worker who quits after complaining

06/01/2011

Management may breathe a sigh of relief if an employee quits after alleging some form of harassment or discrimination and then doesn’t march to the nearest courthouse right away. But before they thank their lucky stars, consider this: The former employee may show up years later, looking for a job—and a retaliation lawsuit.

Prevent retaliation claims by maintaining confidentiality of bias, harassment complaints

05/27/2011

It’s tough to pin retaliation on a supervisor who never knew about an employee’s original complaint. That’s why it makes sense to limit access to information about employee complaints. For example, there’s no need to share an employee’s discrimination complaint with her supervisor if it doesn’t involve that supervisor or department.

Allegheny Port Authority says race charges were trumped up

05/27/2011

The latest chapter in an ongoing legal battle opened recently when the Allegheny Port Authority responded to charges leveled by Deborah Blocker, a black employee who has alleged racial harassment.

Loud and inappropriate gripe? OK to punish, even if complaint involved discrimination

05/20/2011

It goes without saying that employers can’t punish employees because they have complained about discrimination. That would be retaliation, and could mean a lost lawsuit even if the employee wasn’t correct about her allegations. But that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate loud, obnoxious or disruptive complaints, no matter what their content.

Another reason to track everything: Passage of time makes it harder for worker to successfully sue

05/20/2011

It’s possible that a supervisor might wait years to get back at an employee who filed a discrimination complaint. Possible, but unlikely. The more time that passes between an initial complaint and any alleged retaliation, the less likely courts are to entertain a lawsuit.

Complaint: anti-gay slurs, propositions by Jesse Jackson

05/13/2011

A former employee of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s Rainbow Push Coalition has filed what Chicago news outlets are calling a “bombshell” complaint with the Chicago Commission on Human Rights, alleging Jackson ridiculed him for being gay, and even asked him for oral sex on at least one occasion.