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Discrimination / Harassment

Court: ‘Trump supporter’ isn’t a protected category

05/21/2018
After a New York City bar tossed out a patron last year for wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, he sued claiming discrimination.

Employee can’t physically assault alleged harasser unless she is in danger

05/16/2018
When a customer harasses an employee, the employer may be held liable for allowing a hostile work environment if it knew about the potential problem. However, the employee has a responsibility to report the incident.

Beware even appearance of pregnancy bias

05/16/2018
Be careful how you react when an employee announces she is expecting. In the end, the employer won this pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, but defending against it cost huge legal fees and took up hundreds of hours.

Never base hiring decisions on stereotypes

05/16/2018
Here’s an important warning for managers with the power to influence hiring decisions: Repeating stereotypes about applicants invites discrimination lawsuits, as a recent case shows.

Alleged anti-gay bias at University of Minnesota – Duluth attracts more litigation

05/16/2018
Last month we reported that former University of Minnesota – Duluth women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller had finally prevailed in a years-long sex discrimination lawsuit. Now two more former employees are alleging the university discriminated against them on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Target pays $3.9 mil to settle background check lawsuit

05/15/2018
Retail giant Target has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a long-running discrimination suit alleging its policy of not hiring people with criminal convictions disproportionately affects black and Hispanic applicants.

Cost of ‘younger and fresh’ staff: $2.85 million

05/10/2018
Staffing your store or restaurant with only young people crashes hard against federal and state laws that forbid age discrimination in hiring and promotions. And that can be expensive. In fact, it just cost the national restaurant chain Seasons 52 more than $2.85 million.

Training on implicit bias has pluses—and pitfalls to avoid

05/09/2018
Bias plays a part in all discrimination, ranging from race relations to gender and disability stereotypes. Training on implicit or unconscious bias training—if poorly implemented—may backfire, leaving the workplace more divided than it was before.

State of New York has new rules to curb harassment

05/09/2018
The unveiling of New York’s 2019 budget made it clear that the state has maintained its focus on curbing sexual harassment in the workplace. The measures affect both private and public employers. Here are some of the highlights.

To sue for failure to promote, employee must have actually applied for promotion

05/09/2018
When an employee sues his employer, alleging he was denied a promotion because of some form of discrimination, he must at least show that he applied for the promotion. Merely telling his supervisors that he’s interested in possible promotion opportunities isn’t enough when the employer has a formal application process in place.