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

Discrimination / Harassment

Disabled win $6.6 million from the SSA

01/05/2015
Current and former employees of the Social Security Administration will receive $6.6 million to settle charges the agency failed to accommodate disabled workers and denied them promotions. A federal judge has given preliminary approval to the deal.

With handbook warning, it’s OK to deviate from policy

01/05/2015
It’s OK to occasionally deviate from the disciplinary process outlined in your employee handbook—if you leave yourself some wiggle room by explaining that some infractions are so serious they warrant immediate discharge.

Investigate all bias claims, even reverse discrimination

01/05/2015
It may not be common, but reverse discrimination does occur. Ignore it at your peril.

Discrimination based on transgender status still not illegal in Texas

01/05/2015

While there is growing acceptance of same-sex marriage and homosexuality in the United States, being transgender is still not a protected status under federal law. That may be changing in the coming years, but there is as yet nothing preventing a Texas employer from discriminating against a transgender applicant or employee, as the following case shows.

Austin rates as one of best cities for LGBT rights

01/05/2015
Austin scored a perfect 100 in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual rankings of American cities with local laws and policies that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination.

Can you refuse leave for nonreligious church events?

01/04/2015
During Christmas and Hanuk­­kah, some of your employees may have requested time off to attend religious services—as federal law allows them to do. But what if an employee wanted to go to church not for a religious service, but for a holiday sing-along or some other church event. Can you legally say “no”—or would that be considered discrimination?

Discrimination: Title VII

01/04/2015

HR Law 101: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. An array of federal and state laws further refine the definition of discrimination …

Civil Rights Act: Overview

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on race, national origin and religion. The law applies to all employers that have at least 15 full- or part-time workers and includes U.S. companies that employ Americans abroad …

Sexual Harassment: Overview

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courts are increasingly taking a dim view of employers that don’t take decisive action to prevent sexual harassment …

Sex Discrimination

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Sex discrimination and sexual harassment are illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The law requires that employers treat male and female workers equally in all terms and conditions of employment …