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Discrimination / Harassment

More than just paper: Sexual harassment policy won’t work without supervisor training

02/15/2012
Employers can create all the anti-harassment policies they want and still end up liable for sexual har­­ass­­ment. The key to a successful policy is action. The policy must work. And the policy won’t work if supervisors ignore it or aren’t trained how to implement it.

Policies are key to handling workplace romance

02/14/2012
Romance may be in the air at your workplace this Valentine’s Day. A 2011 survey by CareerBuilder.com found that 40% of those polled said they have dated a co-worker. But while Cupid shoots arrows, workplace romances often blow up in a liability minefield.

Second race charge rises for Panera

02/13/2012
A company that operates Panera Bread stores in Florida faces an additional lawsuit charging racial discrimination in the wake of a manager’s suit that claims he was fired for refusing to follow a racist directive from the store’s owner.

Post promotion opportunities to avoid needless litigation

02/13/2012
Here’s a good way to cut your litigation risk: Make sure you post all promotion opportunities along with the minimum job requirements. That way, employees can’t sue over lost opportunities for which they failed to apply.

Timing is everything when it comes to workplace romances gone bad and terminations

02/13/2012

When you terminate an emp­loyee for a good, obvious and well-documented reason, you seldom have to worry about a surprise harassment complaint. Former employees file them fairly frequently, but courts tend to view them with suspicion. The obvious question: Why didn’t the employee complain about harassment before?

Bullet-proof your promotion process: Tell everyone to forward notes and documents to HR

02/13/2012
When it comes to promotions, courts want employers to be honest and fair. Otherwise, they won’t interfere—unless the employer has no records to back up its promotion decisions or show how its decision-making process worked.

Minneapolis Parks & Rec faces race bias charges

02/09/2012
The Minneapolis NAACP has leveled charges of discrimination against the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board. The group claims board practices are biased against minority employees and city residents.

Use harassment hotline? Keep detailed records

02/09/2012
Chances are, you have a sexual harassment policy that gives em­­ployees several ways to report har­­ass­­ment—maybe including a hotline for phoning in problems. But beware: An employee may file an EEOC complaint before you even have a chance to investigate alleged harassment. If that happens, your hotline records may play a crucial role in your defense.

Spike in religious, national-origin job bias claims

02/09/2012
For the second year in a row, the EEOC received a record number of employee job discrimination claims (99,947 in 2011). New EEOC figures show that religious and national-origin bias claims saw the biggest increases last year, up 10% and 5%, respectively.

HR’s loose lips can sink your company’s defense

02/07/2012
Sometimes in HR, you know more than you want to know. But as this new court ruling shows, sharing in­­side information with an employee isn’t a smart move … for your em­­ployer or your career.