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Discrimination / Harassment

Beware trend: Workers acting as own lawyers

12/09/2010
If former employees decide to sue, they’ll find themselves competing for lawyers to represent them. Increasingly, those former employees simply file their own lawsuits. And judges give them every possible break since they aren’t expected to know the tricks of the legal trade.

Take careful notes during all exit interviews

12/09/2010

Employees often reveal their true feelings during an exit interview, and they frequently wind up burning bridges in the process. Smart employers take notes during exit interviews, especially if they hear something that makes them wonder whether the employee should ever have been hired in the first place, let alone rehired for any future openings.

When customers practice discrimination, employer may pay

12/09/2010

Most employers are well aware that it is unlawful for them to discriminate on the basis of race, gender and other protected classes or characteristics. But what about when a customer demands service on a discriminatory basis? What if a client says she wants to be served only by someone of a certain race? A recent case shows how an employer can run afoul of the law in such a circumstance.

When riffed employee sues for discrimination, back up your actions with documentation

12/09/2010

Sometimes, courts are suspicious of an employer’s claim that it conducted a reduction in force if it can’t support the claim with facts and figures. Supply the data and make the court comfortable with your company’s decision.

Leave disciplinary wiggle room in handbook

12/09/2010

Here’s a tip if you are revising your employee handbook: When it comes to discipline, make sure you give yourself some flexibility to deal with unusual circumstances. For example, if you want to use progressive discipline, be sure to account for the rare situations that may warrant immediate suspension or discharge.

GINA’s effect on wellness programs

12/09/2010
To help you better understand your obligations under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), we’ve assembled these resources:

Supreme Court will hear Walmart case — nation’s biggest-ever wage bias class action

12/07/2010
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal in the pay discrimination lawsuit everyone is watching. Walmart is asking the High Court to overturn a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in April that allowed a class-action suit alleging widespread discrimination against women to proceed. At stake: potentially $1 billion or more—and the future of high-stakes class-action cases.

Cable firm’s clear signal: Best to settle bias suit

12/06/2010

After initially refusing to settle a sex discrimination case alleging the company would not hire female technicians, Parma-based Digital Cable and Communications seems to finally get the picture. Several women sued the cable company, claiming they lost out on jobs to less-qualified male applicants. Facing litigation, the company elected to settle.

Insist that managers conduct interviews–even if they already ‘know’ who’s best for the job

12/06/2010

Supervisors may think they know all the candidates for promotion so well they can select one without actually interviewing any of the interested employees. That’s a big mistake. Chances are that if one of the disappointed applicants sues, the supervisor will have to answer very specific questions about the hiring process.

Consider uniform, ADEA-compliant severance and rights-waiver releases–even if age isn’t factor

12/06/2010
There’s a way to make it easier to get severance agreements for older workers to stick. Instead of a general severance agreement for most employees, and a special ADEA-compliant one for older workers, use a uniform agreement that complies with the ADEA for all severance agreements. That’s what one employer recently did. When the former employee who signed the agreement tried to get out of it, the court refused.