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Discrimination / Harassment

Beware backlash when blaming the victim

04/03/2018
Employee assistance programs can be useful for workers facing stress or other challenges. EAP counseling is supposed to be confidential, which means that, except under very rare and unusual safety-related circumstances, information uncovered by the EAP should never be used against the worker.

Surprise lawsuit? Check EEOC paperwork

04/03/2018
If your organization has been served with a discrimination lawsuit, one of the first steps you should take is to check any paperwork from the EEOC or other discrimination agencies. It’s especially important if you don’t recall a particular complaint, such as age discrimination or sexual harassment, having come up earlier.

$2.5 million premium for underpaying women

03/29/2018
If health insurance giant Humana thought it was saving money by paying women less than men doing comparable work, it was wrong. The company just agreed to pay $2.5 million to 753 women who worked for the company in 2011 and 2012.

Texas state agencies immune from ADEA

03/28/2018
A federal court has refused to overturn earlier decisions holding that, in Texas, state agencies are exempt from the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Detail successful candidate’s superior qualifications

03/28/2018
When hiring or promoting from within, make sure you document why the chosen candidate is better qualified than others.

Similar offenses, different discipline? Be sure to justify with critical details

03/28/2018
When it comes to disciplining employees, details make a big difference. Be sure you include enough information in your investigation reports so you can later explain, for example, why one employee deserved harsher punishment than another who made a similar mistake.

Be prepared to explain why new hires earn more than existing staff

03/28/2018
If you find you have to pay more to fill open positions than incumbent employees are currently making, be ready with a good explanation for why new hires command bigger paychecks than staff members who were hired years earlier.

Court decides it doesn’t have to rule on discrimination based on sexual orientation

03/28/2018
A federal court hearing an anti-gay discrimination case in Texas has avoided ruling on whether sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under Title VII. It did so by concluding that the employee didn’t show she had actually experienced sex discrimination.

Post open jobs so everyone knows to apply

03/28/2018
There’s a simple way to prevent lawsuits over missed promotions. Post all internal opportunities and encourage all employees to apply. If you don’t, workers may sue, alleging that the real reason they were denied a promotion was because of some kind of illegal discrimination.

No discrimination without adverse action

03/28/2018
A school counselor who sued because she thought discrimination had cost her a promotion has lost her appeal. Being turned down wasn’t an adverse employment action. And when there’s no adverse action, there can be no discrimination.