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Ohio

Former Lucas County sheriff seeks to recover legal fees

05/04/2012

When James Telb was sheriff of Lucas County, he faced federal charges relating to an inmate’s death in the county jail. He was acquitted in December 2010, but claims the process left him saddled with $200,000 in legal fees. Now he is suing the county to recover the money.

Make sure employees know how to complain

04/16/2012
One of the only ways to protect your company from hostile work environment lawsuits is to provide a way for employees to complain. Then investigate the allegations.

Punish bosses who don’t report harassment

04/16/2012
Before you can fix a problem like offensive graffiti in the workplace, you have to know it exists. Short of conducting spot inspections, the only way you will know what’s going on away from headquarters and in the trenches is from employee and supervisor complaints.

Disability discrimination law in Ohio a mess that needs cleaning up

04/09/2012
It is illegal in Ohio for an employer to discriminate because of the em­­­ployee’s disability. But it’s not always easy to figure out who this proscription covers, because Ohio’s statute and the federal ADA have their own respective definitions of “disability,” which vary slightly.

Harassment or love affair? Depends if it was welcome

04/09/2012
Workplace affairs almost always get messy, especially when they involve a supervisor and a subordinate. But that doesn’t mean that the subordinate is destined to win the case every time. If she can’t show that the affair was unwelcome, she won’t win.

Court: To allege promotion bias, you must have actually applied for the job

04/09/2012
Except in very limited circumstances, an individual must actually apply for a position before he can challenge the decision to hire someone else.

Stop harassment with warning, then follow up to confirm problem was really solved

04/09/2012
Sometimes, all it takes to stop sexual harassment (or behavior that could escalate to harassment) is to tell the individual to cut it out. But you’ll never know if it worked unless you follow up. You should periodically check back with those affected and note their response in your files.

Chase case shows exactly which arguments won’t help defend sexual harassment lawsuit

04/09/2012
Sometimes, seeing how another employer handles an HR problem can give you confidence you’re on the right track. That’s especially true if that other employer messes up really, really badly.

Cincinnati firm settles religious discrimination claim

04/09/2012
Most religious discrimination lawsuits involve allegations of subtle mistakes—e.g., a manager didn’t understand that an em­­ployee had a legitimate need for religious accommodation. But there was nothing subtle about the allegations in a re­­­­cently settled case in­­volving Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp.

Black boss, white worker? Beware reverse bias

04/09/2012

Courts hold white employees who allege racial discrimination to a slightly higher standard than members of other protected classes. The higher standard is met if the white employee can show that the decision-maker is a member of another protected class.