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Discrimination / Harassment

9th Circuit: EPA requires ignoring past pay

04/19/2018
Employers that set pay based on past salaries are just as guilty of sex discrimination as those past employers who set a discriminatory rate of pay in the first place.

Snapshot: Where does most sexual harassment happen?

04/17/2018
About two-thirds of women who say they have been sexually harassed say it happened at work.

Document all details about employee discipline

04/16/2018
It’s impossible to predict which employee will sue and why. That’s why you must carefully document every disciplinary action, including enough specific information to later justify those decisions.

The fact of pay bias matters, not what motivates it

04/16/2018
Employees suing under the Equal Pay Act who can prove that they held a substantially similar job but were paid less than a member of the opposite sex don’t have to prove that the employer intended to discriminate.

No anonymous employment lawsuits allowed

04/16/2018
Sometimes, filing a lawsuit and airing dirty laundry in a public forum can be embarrassing and uncomfortable for an employee. That doesn’t give her the right to bring the case using a pseudonym, a federal court has ruled.

Former Duluth, Minn. hockey coach awarded $3.7 million for bias

04/16/2018
A federal jury hearing a discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of Minnesota Duluth has awarded $3.7 million to Shannon Miller, the university’s former women’s hockey coach.

Harassment training has changed since #MeToo

04/12/2018
Employment lawyers say the first six months of the #MeToo movement hasn’t led to a tsunami of workplace harassment claims by employees—at least not yet. One big change, however, has been a sharp increase in the number of employers who are doing preventative training to head off such claims.

When bias charges arise, never ignore EEOC

04/12/2018
No matter how trivial you might consider discrimination or harassment charges leveled by your employees, never, ever ignore an EEOC complaint. It could wind up costing your organization dearly.

Snapshot: Has #MeToo made it difficult for men to work with women?

04/10/2018
Overall, 51% of adults say an increased focus on sexual harassment has made it harder for men to interact with women at work.

Watch out for Section 1981, the ancient law that can put your own assets at risk

04/09/2018
A federal court has made it clear: If a workplace is found to be a racially hostile environment, individual decision-makers are at risk of being held personally liable. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 sometimes allows for bigger verdicts and personal liability for supervisors, managers, owners and even HR professionals.