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Discrimination / Harassment

Minority decision-Maker doesn’t prevent promotion bias

07/01/2007

Although it may defy logic to think that a member of a protected class would discriminate in hiring or promoting another member of the same class, having a minority decision-maker doesn’t automatically mean there’s no bias in the selection process …

Check policies for impact on older applicants and employees

07/01/2007

Ever since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2005, older workers and applicants have been able to prevail in age discrimination suits if they can show that an employer’s policy or hiring standard has a so-called “disparate impact” on those over 40 years old …

You can require arbitration of federal and Michigan discrimination claims

07/01/2007

Good news if you’ve ever wondered whether that arbitration clause you had your employees sign is valid. As long as certain conditions are met, employers can require employees to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment …

Court finds Wayne State responded adequately to harassment claims

07/01/2007

According to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, Wayne State University appropriately handled sexual harassment complaints by an assistant director in the university’s Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies …

Discrimination probe stirs more complaints about Michigan DNR

07/01/2007

Six months after a state investigation revealed an “oppressive culture” of intolerance and bullying toward women and blacks in the Law Enforcement Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the agency is still reviewing the report, and other employees have stepped forward to reinforce its findings …

OK to apply different discipline standards to new employees

07/01/2007

If you classify employees as either permanent or probationary, you can apply different disciplinary standards to the different classifications. That’s true even if the employees perform the same job and violate the same rules …

Don’t post promotion opportunities? It’s time to reconsider

07/01/2007

Think twice if your company relies on informal in-house recommendations to fill open positions. The courts look suspiciously on such “networking” promotions and land hard on employers that don’t post job openings …

Track all disciplinary actions to head off disparate-Treatment claims

07/01/2007

When employees sue under the employment discrimination laws of Ohio, they often allege disparate treatment and try to show their employer treated members of their protected class (e.g., age, race, sex) more severely than other employees. The key to a good defense lies in tracking each and every disciplinary action when it occurs …

Prompt action by management is key to winning hostile-Environment lawsuits

07/01/2007

The Ohio Fair Employment Practices Act makes it illegal to subject employees to a racially hostile work environment. But not every hostile act does a lawsuit make. Much depends on management’s response to such hostility …

Immortal words of Imus end state employee’s career

07/01/2007

A 60-year-old administrator in the state treasurer’s office was urged into retirement after she called a fellow worker a “nappy-headed ho” one week after radio personality Don Imus made the phrase famous …