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

Discrimination / Harassment

When the harassment is anonymous, respond just as quickly

12/28/2014
A recent case at Coca-Cola displays the importance of being fast and thorough in investigating harassment—even when you’re not sure where it’s coming from.

Screening/Hiring: Overview

12/28/2014

HR Law 101: Protecting yourself and your company from lawsuits starts the minute you decide to hire someone. Potential lawsuit land mines line your path. Federal laws provide a patchwork of legislation protecting workers and applicants from discrimination by employers …

Beware rogue bosses with ulterior motives

12/24/2014
Sometimes, a supervisor harbors prejudices that aren’t obvious. Always investigate before firing an employee who claims she’s in trouble because of her boss’s biases. If ­others agree there is a problem, you had better pay attention.

Violence after hours and away from work? That’s a matter for police, not EEOC

12/24/2014

There are some things that employers can’t control. One of those things is how employees act outside the workplace. Take, for example, this recent case in which a co-worker allegedly attacked another worker after work and off the premises.

No need to accommodate ‘disabled’ worker who misses mandatory drug test

12/24/2014
Employees who are not qualified for their jobs can’t claim ADA protection based on disability. And when a disabled employee has a position that’s covered by Depart­­ment of Transportation federal drug testing requirements and refuses a drug test, he’s automatically unqualified because DOT regulations require his sus­­pension.

Proposed referendum would allow firing LGBT workers

12/24/2014
State Sen. Donna Campbell has proposed legislation authorizing a referendum to amend the Texas Constitution in a way that opponents say would allow Texas businesses to fire lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual employees and refuse service to LGBT customers if the business owner objects to the employee or customer’s lifestyle because of religious beliefs.

OK to fire older worker despite ageist comments

12/24/2014
It’s never a good idea to talk about older workers as “dinosaurs” or wish for “new blood.” When a boss say things like that, and if the em­­ployee is demoted or fired shortly afterward, the statements can end up being used as direct evidence of age discrimination.

EEOC charges, settlements fell last year

12/24/2014
The number of EEOC charges declined slightly in fiscal year 2014, but employers wound up paying dramatically less for workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation than they did in 2013.

Recently enacted California law prohibits civil rights waivers

12/24/2014
It is now illegal in the state to require employees to sign agreements waiving their rights under the Ralph Civil Rights Act (Civil Code 51.7) and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (Civil Code 52.1). Those civil rights laws prohibit hate violence and threats against citizens based on certain protected classes, such as political affiliation, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability or medical condition, or on account of position in a labor dispute.

Court: Bias must be ‘substantial factor’ in firing

12/24/2014
A state appeals court has just reversed part of a jury award based on a new California Supreme Court requirement that employees prove that discrimination was “a substantial motivating factor” for the firing rather than merely a motivating factor. However, no such rule applies to har­­ass­­ment claims.