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Discrimination / Harassment

NJLAD protects people perceived as handicapped

10/27/2009

Employees don’t have to actually be handicapped to be protected from discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). It’s enough that an employer perceives them as handicapped. As the following case shows, it doesn’t take much to send such a case to a jury trial.

EEOC: Company illegally used credit, criminal records

10/27/2009

The EEOC has cited national convention marketing firm Freeman Companies with discriminatory hiring practices based on the company’s use of applicants’ credit scores and criminal background checks in hiring. According to the complaint, the credit and criminal background checks are neither job related nor of business necessity. The EEOC alleges they screen out otherwise qualified women and minority candidates.

EEOC charges Mount Gilead modular builder with race bias

10/26/2009

According to an EEOC complaint, Professional Building Systems has subjected African-American employees at its headquarters in Mount Gilead to harassment that included drawings depicting the workers and members of the Ku Klux Klan.

How one missing poster doomed an Atlantic City hotel

10/25/2009

Outdated workplace posters aren’t just a minor mistake that, at worst, could trigger only a small fine. As a new court ruling shows, poster mistakes can actually breathe new life into supposedly dead employment lawsuits …

Pay attention to spontaneous bias complaint

10/23/2009

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination engage in what is commonly called “protected activity”—and that means they can’t be punished for doing so. Thus, it’s illegal to retaliate against an employee who goes to HR to report possible discrimination. But what about employees who never come forward on their own, but who simply respond to a supervisor’s question about equal treatment? Are they also protected?

Track older workers’ training opportunities

10/23/2009

Technology changes fast, and so do the skills employees need to succeed in their jobs. But some employees don’t feel comfortable taking the steps needed to adapt. If those employees happen to be older and you end up having to replace them, you could face an age discrimination lawsuit. You can avoid such lawsuits with a good skill-building plan …

Race bias lawsuits alive and well

10/23/2009

 We all like to think we’ve moved beyond race discrimination, but the number of race bias lawsuits being filed suggests otherwise. That’s why employers need to make sure their hiring and discharge practices don’t discriminate. 

Refusal to hire non-Hispanics sparks EEOC lawsuit

10/23/2009

Propak Logistics, an Arkansas-based freight management company, has drawn the ire of the EEOC, which is suing the firm for refusing to hire applicants who weren’t Hispanic for nonmanagement positions at its plant in Shelby.

Document solid business rationale for all salary increases and cuts

10/21/2009

Employees who discover their colleagues are making more money for doing the same work often conclude that there can be only one reason—discrimination. Next stop: an attorney, who will try to confirm the pay bias by comparing the employee’s paychecks with his co-workers’. That’s why you have to be proactive, consistently keeping good records that show why you’ve made every compensation decision.

Record infraction, punishment for every rules violation

10/21/2009

Make a note every time you take disciplinary action against an employee. You need documentation that explains why each employee was punished.