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Discrimination / Harassment

Mere petty behavior? Don’t sweat bias suit

10/10/2013
Employees sue over the most trivial workplace incidents. Fortunately, courts have more important things to do than soothe hurt feelings. Busy judges are quickly dismissing cases that are based on nothing more than a few petty incidents.

Firing for ‘dishonesty’? Offer specifics about what happened

10/09/2013
Like most employers, you probably have general rules about what constitutes a firing offense—and “dishonesty” is probably on the list of no-no’s. It’s a vague term, subject to interpretation. That’s a good reason to make your disciplinary records specific.

Retirement offer instead of disciplinary hearing isn’t adverse action

10/08/2013
Offering a public employee the option to retire rather than face a disciplinary hearing that could result in discharge isn’t an adverse employment action. Therefore, it can’t be the basis of an employee’s discrimination lawsuit.

Show pregnancy didn’t prompt mom’s firing

10/08/2013
It’s become a little bit harder for women alleging pregnancy discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to win discharge lawsuits. To prevail, a new mother has to prove that pregnancy discrimination was a “substantial motivating factor” in her discharge.

Victim’s racy conduct won’t cancel harassment

10/04/2013
You may think that a female em­­ployee who admitted to bringing a naked photo to work and showing it around couldn’t later complain when she became the target of sexual harassment. You would be wrong.

Austin F.D. stops hiring after EEOC claims testing bias

10/02/2013
The Austin Fire Department has stopped hiring candidates from its 2012 candidate list now that the EEOC has declared that its hiring test discriminated against black and Hispanic candidates. The EEOC pointed to disparities in pass rates between the groups.

EEOC: Employer made biased bed, may have to lie in it

10/02/2013
Mattress Firm, a Houston-based bedding retailer, faces charges it discriminated against older workers at its Las Vegas stores. The EEOC has filed suit against the company after efforts to mediate the case failed.

In Laredo, employer pays for miscarriage of justice

10/02/2013
Laredo-based Platinum PTS will pay a former employee $100,000 to settle charges it violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. According to her complaint, the former employee was fired after she asked for time off following a miscarriage.

Interview performance can be the hiring tiebreaker

10/02/2013
When several qualified candidates are in the running for a job, you can use interview performance as the deciding factor. Just make sure interviewers note their specific reasons why one applicant seemed better than the others.

Get rid of bad apples! Act fast to fire worker who won’t stop slurs despite warnings

10/02/2013
What should you do when an employee keeps spouting offensive racial slurs despite repeated warnings to stop? Fire her before she says or does something that leads to a lawsuit.