• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Discrimination / Harassment

Mere threat of pay cut isn’t reason enough to sue

02/24/2016
Employees are expected to have relatively thick skins when it comes to how their bosses treat them. They aren’t supposed to overreact and quit at the drop of a hat.

Harassment occurring now? Ensure safety first

02/16/2016
When an employee reports sexual harassment that may place her in physical danger, act immediately. Do everything you can to keep the complaining employee safe. Only then should you start investigating.

Racial remarks? Respond quickly and forcefully

02/12/2016
As a manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure that none of your people behave in a way that diminishes the sense of mutual respect and dignity in your unit. That’s what insensitive racial remarks do.

Pregnancy protections expand, as do compliance obligations

02/12/2016
Federal and state laws protecting pregnant employees and prospective new parents continue to expand at a rapid rate.

Your new litigation danger: Conspiracy charges against rogue managers

02/12/2016

If managers somehow collude to discriminate against an employee, that may be grounds for a conspiracy lawsuit. It happened in a recent case.

Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority settles PDA claims

02/04/2016
The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority has agreed to settle charges it discriminated against female officers by automatically transferring them to less desirable assignments when the officers revealed they were pregnant.

Isolated, mild comments don’t add up to legitimate lawsuit

02/04/2016
Some terminated employees think that all they need to do to build a winning lawsuit is recall an offensive comment a supervisor once made. That’s not usually true.

Retire or you’re fired? Prepare for age bias suit

02/04/2016
It’s fine to offer an early retirement buyout. It’s a very bad idea to say that, if not enough older workers accept the offer, they might be fired.

Boss’s affair with someone else is no basis for third party’s bias or harassment suit

02/04/2016
The fact that a supervisor may favor a subordinate with whom he is romantically linked doesn’t justify a sex discrimination or harassment lawsuit by someone who isn’t involved in the affair.

When ‘continual violation’ may exist, courts allow harassment claims dating back decades

02/04/2016
Here’s something to remember if you find that an employee’s sexual harassment allegations have been swept under the rug, unresolved and ignored.