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Discrimination / Harassment

City council goes after clerks, but catches lawsuits instead

06/23/2011
The Westmoreland County town of Jeanette is seeing more than its share of employment litigation. Two city clerks have filed lawsuits, one for age discrimination, the other as a whistle-blower suit.

Different discipline for ‘similar’ offenses? Better be prepared to explain why

06/23/2011
When you’re disciplining an employee, you don’t have to go into every detail about why she is being punished one way when another employee was dealt with differently. However, if the employee ever sues you for discrimination, you had better be prepared to explain the difference later—in court.

Keep it clean (and sober)! Ensure drug testing is uniform and fair

06/23/2011
When you offer employees a chance for drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, make sure you treat them fairly. There’s nothing wrong with telling recovering employees they may be randomly tested for drugs or alcohol without notice. You can even use a “lottery” system that results in some employees being tested more often than others.

Remember: Discord isn’t always retaliation

06/23/2011

You can’t retaliate against employees who complain about alleged discrimination in the workplace. But what’s retaliation? Tense working conditions don’t always fit that bill. There can be many explanations for rising tensions that have nothing to do with a discrimination complaint.

Will PHRA expand to cover sexual orientation?

06/23/2011
Harrisburg Controller Dan Miller is lobbying the Pennsylvania Legislature to expand the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. For Miller, it’s personal.

Better be prepared to justify unequal treatment

06/23/2011
There are times when management feels compelled to treat some employees differently than others. That’s fine—as long as you can explain why and your explanation makes it clear that race, age, sex or some other protected characteristic wasn’t the reason.

Supreme Court’s Walmart ruling makes it harder for workers to bring class actions

06/20/2011
In the most anticipated employment law ruling of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court said a huge lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million female Walmart employees cannot proceed as a single class-action case. Experts say the important ruling will make it more difficult for employees to band together in giant class-action cases against employers. (Walmart v. Dukes)

Tread carefully with pregnant underperformer

06/17/2011

Performance improvement plans (PIPs) can help turn around subpar employees. But if you use PIPs, make sure you implement them equitably. For example, if you place a sales­person on a PIP to raise falling sales, then institute a PIP for everyone whose sales have fallen to the same level. That’s especially important if one of the employees is about to take FMLA leave or is pregnant.

Failure to investigate alleged harassment brings EEOC lawsuit

06/17/2011
B.J. Con-Sew faces national-origin harassment charges after a Hispanic employee claims he was forced to ­resign to avoid daily harassment. The employee claims he complained to various managers, but no investigation or assistance was forthcoming. Eventually, he quit and filed charges with the EEOC.

Don’t sweat details if your discipline decision is sound

06/17/2011

Do you worry about every detail of discipline and make sure all the facts are completely accurate? Your concern may be needless. Employers certainly have to be fair when disciplining, but judges know HR departments aren’t courts of law—and they don’t demand proof beyond a reasonable doubt.