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Retaliation

Failing to investigate nebulous charges isn’t a federal case–and it’s not retaliation

06/02/2010

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for doing so. In order for the employee to win a lawsuit, the retaliatory act must be adverse—that is, it must be an act that affects the employee in more than an inconsequential way. In a recent case, an employee claimed that by merely ignoring her complaint, her employer was retaliating. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals nixed that idea.

Employee blames company, boss for stillborn son

06/02/2010
Natalie Schroeder was seven months into a high-risk twin pregnancy when she missed a doctor’s appointment. Her boss at Advanced Neuromodulation Systems in Plano told her she had to finish a report before she could leave. Three days later she went into labor and delivered a healthy girl—and a stillborn son. Now she is suing.

Retaliation: Don’t sweat link between complaint and firing, if you would have fired anyway

06/02/2010

You may be worrying too much about firing an employee right after she files a discrimination complaint! If you can easily show that you would have fired her regardless of her complaint, a court is unlikely to connect her complaint with your decision. And in Texas, timing alone isn’t enough to prove the firing was retaliation.

TSU must play defense against suit by former basketball coach

06/02/2010
Surina Dixon, former women’s basketball coach at Texas Southern University, has filed a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the school, alleging that it violated Title VII by paying her half of what it paid the coach of the men’s team.

El Paso settles police official’s bias lawsuit

06/02/2010
In September 2008, El Paso Police Department Assistant Chief of Staff Diana Kirk filed a lawsuit charging the city with discrimination and retaliation. Now the El Paso City Council has voted to settle the suit, which alleged bias against Hispanic and female members of the police department.

Beware! Even small penalty can be retaliation

06/02/2010

Employees who complain about discrimination are protected from retaliation—and even a small financial penalty against an employee may be enough to trigger a lawsuit. Remember: The test for retaliation is whether a hypothetical reasonable employee would be dissuaded from complaining in the first place if he or she knew the consequences.

Good news for employers: Workers’ comp retaliation isn’t a federal case

05/28/2010
Whenever a case moves from state court into the federal court system, costs go up and delays become frequent because dockets are so crowded. That’s one reason a recent decision by a federal court to send a case back to the North Carolina court system is good news. The case involved a workers’ compensation retaliation claim …

Think twice before piling on worker who’s suing

05/28/2010

Employees who file EEOC complaints, hire an attorney or file a lawsuit alleging Title VII violations are protected from retaliation. If you make any sudden adverse employment decisions after the employee has engaged in those protected activities, you’re likely to face retaliation charges, too. That doesn’t mean you should never discipline or fire employees who take you to court.

Ban former employee from premises; it’s not retaliation

05/26/2010
How do you handle a former employee who wants to come onto the premises and speak with other employees about her pending lawsuit? You can ban her.

Employees have 2 years to sue under NJCRA

05/26/2010
Current and former employees have up to two years to sue under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act (NJCRA).