Discrimination / Harassment

Don’t make this $10 million vaccine mistake

08/11/2022

First, the bad news: An employer recently agreed to pay $10 million to a group of employees who refused to be vaccinated against covid-19 for religious reasons. The good news: The same fate won’t befall your organization if you follow some simple steps that balance religious objections against business and organizational needs.

Monkeypox could lead to bias, harassment complaints

08/04/2022

While virologists and the general public are quickly learning how the monkeypox virus is transmitted, some employment lawyers are gearing up for the possibility of discrimination and harassment claims stemming from the virus’s link to sexual activity between gay and bisexual men.

Accommodating religion: 6 commandments for managers

07/28/2022

The increasing religious diversity in the workforce is causing more managers to make legal mistakes. And a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may cause confusion about where managers can draw the line on religion and prayer in the workplace.

Don’t fly solo on settlements! Call your lawyer

07/28/2022

It may be tempting to offer a disgruntled employee a quick cash settlement in exchange for her signature on a liability release. But beware: If the release isn’t properly executed, the employee might be able to sue anyway.

Accommodate teenage workers’ disabilities, too

07/21/2022

One of the EEOC’s primary enforcement priorities is protecting teen workers from harassment and discrimination. Employers that tolerate abuse of younger employees can expect an EEOC lawsuit that is likely to result in an expensive judgment or settlement.

Investigate all harassment complaints ASAP

07/21/2022

Act fast as soon as you learn an employee has complained about harassment. If you don’t, you may lose the only defense your organization has.

Abortion discrimination is still illegal pregnancy bias

07/19/2022

As controversial and divisive of an issue as abortion is (perhaps now more than ever), the law is clear that an employer cannot fire an employee for having one. Nothing the Supreme Court did in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization changes this.

You can’t discriminate based on type of citizenship

07/14/2022

Employers cannot discriminate against citizens, legal immigrants and others with valid work visas on the basis of their national origin. The EEOC has made it clear that the type of citizenship an applicant holds can’t be used as a reason not to hire. That, too, would amount to national-origin discrimination.

Court: Faith allows skipping preferred pronouns

07/14/2022

A worker whose gender identity differs from that assigned at birth can insist on being addressed by his or her preferred pronouns. At the same time, a co-worker whose sincerely held religious beliefs reject the concept of transgenderism might object on religious grounds to having to use those preferred pronouns.

Prepare to prove hardship of accommodating religion

07/07/2022

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs and practices unless doing so would create an undue burden on business operations. That means employers that reject a religious accommodation request must be prepared to demonstrate exactly how it would have created an undue hardship.