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Texas

Justice Department tells Hoover to clean up its I-9 process

12/01/2010
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that it has reached a settlement with the Hoover Company—which manufactures vacuum cleaners in El Paso—resolving allegations that its employment eligibility verification process discriminates against legal, permanent residents of the United States.

Cabbies charge race, religious bias at DFW Airport

12/01/2010

Approximately 250 taxi drivers have filed EEOC discrimination and retaliation complaints against Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, alleging racial and religious bias. The cabbies, most of who are of Middle Eastern origin, allege that an airport manager referred to them as animals and called the taxi queue the “Central Zoo.”

Court affirms 45-day EEO deadline for fed workers

12/01/2010
Federal employees have just 45 days following an alleged discriminatory action to file complaints with their agency’s internal equal employment opportunity (EEO) office. Courts are increasingly holding employees to that deadline.

Lateral transfer isn’t an adverse employment action

12/01/2010

Employees turned down for jobs that amount to lateral transfers can’t sue for discrimination. That’s because employees have to prove the employer made an adverse employment decision based on some form of discrimination. A transfer that doesn’t change the terms and conditions of employment isn’t adverse.

Employee pushing envelope on HR policies? Maybe he’s not best for job with lots of rules

12/01/2010

Have you had an employee who always tries to see how far he can stretch workplace rules? You know the type—he takes all breaks, arrives just before he’s technically late and never volunteers for the tough tasks. That guy might not be the best choice to promote into a job that requires following strict rules.

Arbitration agreements are contracts! Keep them out of employee handbooks

12/01/2010
The Supreme Court of Texas has just ruled that arbitration agreements are legally valid and enforceable as long as they are stand-alone contracts—and not part of an overall employment manual.

Candidate extra-qualified? Make a note of it

12/01/2010
Sometimes, a candidate stands out as a great potential hire. Whatever it is that signals this is a good hire, make sure you note it in your interview documentation. Otherwise, it may be hard to justify the decision if another applicant who met the basic job requirements sues and alleges some form of discrimination.

Warn bosses: No remarks about employee age

12/01/2010

Don’t panic if you find out that a supervisor has made age-related comments. Instead, use the incident as a teaching moment. Instruct all managers and supervisors that they should view negative comments about age the same way they view comments based on sex, race, disability and other protected classification stereotyping.

Can we fire an employee for refusing to take a lie detector test?

11/15/2010
Q. One of our employees filed a sexual harassment complaint against another worker. After interviewing both parties, we are unable to resolve the credibility conflict. We asked the accused co-worker to take a polygraph exam, but he refused. Can we fire the employee for refusing to take the lie detector test?

The best defense against bias lawsuits: Equal treatment for all your employees

11/15/2010
An employee who thinks her supervisor is out to get her may be on the lookout for perceived discrimination. She can turn a negative performance appraisal into a bias lawsuit. The only way to prepare for surprise lawsuits is to consistently treat all employees alike and document that fair treatment. For example, performance evaluations should include as many objective measures as possible, making it easier to compare employees.