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Discrimination / Harassment

Anti-discrimination laws protect contractors, too

11/13/2018
Employers that use independent contractors must make sure their assignments aren’t racially discriminatory.

Double-check date of EEOC complaints: Employees have just 300 days to file

11/13/2018
Workers often start the litigation process on their own by filing a complaint with the EEOC. Carefully check the date on every EEOC complaint form to see if it’s possible to get a case tossed out because it wasn’t filed in time.

Feel free to consider past discipline when rehiring staff you previously laid off

11/13/2018
When workers apply for other, open positions that they’re at least marginally qualified for, their past disciplinary history may be a good reason to not rehire them.

Choose the best candidate, don’t sweat liability

11/13/2018
When you have several excellent candidates for the same position, it can be difficult to pick which one should get the offer. As long as you document why you picked one of the qualified candidates over the others, chances are you won’t lose a lawsuit.

Nix nixed light duty for pregnant employee

11/13/2018
Nix Health, a hospital in San Antonio, faces charges it violated the Preg­nancy Discrimination Act when it refused a pregnant worker’s request for a light-duty assignment.

Fifth EEOC complaint filed against Bryn Mawr Trust

11/06/2018
A woman who worked at Bryn Mawr Trust in Pennsylvania was fired shortly after corroborating a co-worker’s account during an investigation into race and sex discrimination charges at the bank, according to a complaint filed with the EEOC.

Punishment for ending affair creates liability

11/06/2018
A consensual sexual affair may not mean automatic liability for sexual harassment or sex discrimination, but punishing an employee for ending an affair does.

Merely offering severance package doesn’t constitute admission of employer wrongdoing

11/06/2018
It’s often tempting to offer a severance package in exchange for the promise not to sue over alleged discrimination. But some workers may see that offer as an admission of sorts that the employer believes it needs to pre-emptively cut liability.

Document time of performance problems in case employee registers bogus complaints

11/06/2018
Employees who face discipline sometimes fight back with their own discrimination complaints. Terminating such an employee shortly afterward can look suspiciously like the complaint precipitated the discipline. The best way to prevent that impression is to carefully document the reasons for the disciplinary meeting in the first place.

Bottom-up hiring could perpetuate pay bias

11/06/2018
There’s a danger that wages may appear to be discriminatory if the hiring process is centralized, but decisions about starting pay are made locally, without regard to broader corporate compensation scales. The risk: Class-action lawsuits.