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HR Management

Pitch old records with care

10/01/2000

Q. How long is a company supposed to keep paper records? We’d like to throw out some of our old, archived paperwork. —B.H., Pennsylvania

Title VII’s silence on gay bias doesn’t give OK to discriminate

10/01/2000
It would be an understatement to describe the working relationship between nurse Gary Hamner and the hospital’s medical director as poor. Hamner, a homosexual, says …

Employee doesn’t need to exhaust complaint channels to file suit

10/01/2000
After complaining to her store manager several times about harassment, Gabrielle Breda decided to resign and sue rather than take her complaint up the chain of command. Company policy …

Base English-only rules on business necessity

10/01/2000
Unless you have a good business reason, steer clear of preventing workers from talking to each other in their native language. In September …

Check arbitration pacts against these standards

10/01/2000

Q. To hold down litigation costs and resolve disputes faster, we’re thinking about requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements that would make them arbitrate employment disputes instead of going to court. Are these agreements legal? —C.R., California

Even ‘tolerable’ harassment will nail you

10/01/2000
For months, Richard Corliss hurled racial slurs at two African-American co-workers at McDonald’s. When the two women complained, their supervisor said he couldn’t control Corliss’ mouth, claimed he didn’t know how …

No special protection for morning sickness

10/01/2000
After 20 unexcused absences in a year, Jennifer Dormeyer was fired from her job as a bank teller. She claimed nine of the absences were because of morning sickness and sued …

Set reasonable limits on noncompete agreements

09/01/2000
Redd Pest Control tried to turn its financial fortunes around by setting a $7,500 per-month quota for each technician’s route. Wayne Foster and Isadore Smith …

Beware greater use of job-discrimination ‘testers.’

09/01/2000
A federal appeals court says that people who pose as job applicants solely to find out if a company discriminates in hiring can still sue the employer under Title VII. These …

Lost the case? Ask for damages to be spelled out.

09/01/2000
A former car dealership employee won an Americans with Disabilities Act case and a $1.05 million jury award for lost back wages, lost future wages …