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Discrimination / Harassment

Court: Lawsuit over anti-gay harassment won’t fly because Title VII doesn’t cover it

06/30/2011
An employee who claimed a hostile work environment after co-workers harassed him for being gay has lost his lawsuit because Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not include anti-gay harassment as a legal cause of action.

Worker pregnant? At least say, ‘Congratulations!’

06/30/2011

Here’s a tip that can save needless hassle: Tell managers and super­visors they should greet every pregnancy announcement with a big smile and a hearty “Congratulations!” That’s because at least one federal court in Ohio has used a supervisor’s silence as possible circumstantial evi­dence that the pregnant employee was discharged because she was expecting.

Title company’s closing costs may include damages for age bias

06/30/2011
A 69-year-old woman who has worked for Central Title, a Tyler County title company, since 1992 is suing her former employer, claiming she was a victim of age discrimination.

Truck driver files race suit against Alice energy company

06/30/2011
A former employee of Texas Energy Service is suing the company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, alleging it fired him because he is black.

‘Pops’ sues for discrimination after firing

06/30/2011
An East Texas sales manager who claims he was fired while lower-performing, younger employees kept their jobs has filed an age discrimination suit against his former employer, Sagemcom Communications USA. He also accuses his boss of calling him “pops,” “old timer” and other derogatory names.

Think twice before setting ‘English-only’ rule; courts view complaints as protected activity

06/30/2011
Don’t try to prevent employees from speaking languages other than Eng­lish at work, especially when they’re chatting among themselves. Unless you have a good business reason for banning other languages, courts will likely see the practice as discriminatory.

Voodoo a religion? Texas HHS about to find out

06/30/2011
A former employee of the Texas Health and Human Services Com­mis­sion has accused the state agency of retaliation and discrimination on the basis of her religion—voodoo.

It’s legit to use differences in location and duties to justify varying pay scales

06/30/2011
Under the Equal Pay Act, em­­ployers can set different salaries based on geographically distinct job locations. In other words, you aren’t required to pay a manager in New York City the same as one in a lower-cost locale, even if the New York manager is male and the manager in the other location is female. Plus, any differences in responsibilities can help justify the difference.

Are you ready to punish a slacking employee? First, have a talk

06/29/2011

HR professionals or managers should always discuss performance or behavior problems with employees before disciplining them. After all, employees often admit their mistakes when confronted directly. And any admissions can be used later to support your disciplinary decision if the employee claims discrimination.

Can we consider only currently working candidates?

06/28/2011
Q. What restrictions exist on advertising for job vacancies? We are flooded with applications and have considered limiting applications to the currently employed. We worry the unemployed have rusty skills. Can we say we won’t consider hiring unemployed people?