Discrimination / Harassment

8th Circuit reiterates: Employees who sue have no right to free legal assistance

07/24/2018

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals had reaffirmed that former employees who are poor and who are struggling to represent themselves aren’t entitled to the help of an attorney at no charge.

Warn supervisors: Never delete texts and emails related to employee’s complaint

07/24/2018

Be sure to warn supervisors and managers that if an employee has filed an EEOC or internal complaint or a state or federal lawsuit, deleting texts or emails related even tangentially to the underlying complaint can be risky.

Mind deadlines when employee files bias charges

07/19/2018

Employees must meet strict deadlines when filing discrimination claims with the EEOC and state anti-discrimination agencies.

Prepare to turn over disciplinary records if employee files a discrimination lawsuit

07/18/2018

When an employee sues for alleged discrimination, he or she is generally entitled to access all relevant employer documents. If you disciplined the employee, chances are you will have to turn over disciplinary records concerning other staff. Don’t expect to keep those records confidential.

When punishing harassment, you may discipline different perpetrators differently

07/14/2018

Employers investigating workplace harassment accusations may wonder if all the alleged perpetrators must be disciplined equally harshly. You do have some discretion in how you mete out punishment. Just make sure you can later justify why one party was less culpable or deserved a lesser punishment than others.

Counseling, all by itself, isn’t an adverse action

07/14/2018

Do you use some form of counseling or peer review to help employees improve their performance? If so, make sure it isn’t tied directly to punishment such as demotion or termination.

Appeals court upholds state agency’s award

07/13/2018

A New York appeals court has upheld a damage award the New York State Division of Human Rights granted to three women who complained that their employer had allowed sexual harassment and retaliation for their complaints.

Not every gripe is worth an employee lawsuit

07/12/2018

Some employees think they can sue their employer anytime they believe working conditions aren’t absolutely fair and free from conflict. They’re wrong.

Not all unwanted touching is harassment

07/12/2018

Workers who sue for harassment must still provide evidence that the motivation for the touching was somehow related to sex and not just part of a pattern of nonsexual touching meted out to everyone, male, female, heterosexual or gay.

Executive order bars salary inquiries for some state jobs

07/10/2018

Brandishing a plastic bag containing 79 cents, Gov. Tom Wolf announced an executive order barring most Pennsylvania government offices from asking for an applicant’s salary history during the hiring process.