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Retaliation

New state law expands whistle-blower protections

07/17/2013
Gov. Mark Dayton has signed into law an expansion of the state’s 1987 whistle-blower act. The new Minne­­­­sota Whistleblower’s Act protects from retaliation both public- and private-sector employees who report misconduct.

Zip it! Keep all investigations confidential

07/17/2013
Employees who participate in internal investigations into discrimination charges are protected from retaliation. That’s why it’s good policy to keep investigations confidential. Don’t divulge the names of cooperating employees to anyone who doesn’t need to know.

It’s now harder to sue for bias, retaliation

07/10/2013

Good news for employers: A pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings handed down on June 24 will make it more difficult for your employees to file lawsuits against your organization, claiming discrimination or retaliation. Here’s the impact for HR:

10 things you never want to have to admit in a retaliation case

07/09/2013

When an employee either complains internally about discrimination or goes to an outside agency like the EEOC to lodge a complaint, she has engaged in what’s called “protected activity.” She may not be right about the discrimination, but if her employer retaliated against her for complaining in the first place, she could win a large jury award anyway. You’ll want to avoid at all costs having to admit to any of these 10 things if you’re embroiled in a retaliation case.

Add civility code to prevent avoidable lawsuits

07/09/2013
Do you have a comprehensive civility code? If not, consider adding one. A work environment contaminated by yelling, cursing and other uncivil behavior could lead to discrimination and retaliation lawsuits.

Beware firing for forwarding emails that might support retaliation claim

07/09/2013
Be careful before firing someone for violating email policies that prohibit forwarding company documents to a personal email account. If the forwarded documents support an EEOC or other discrimination complaint, and if the forwarding isn’t “disruptive,” firing the employee could trigger a retaliation claim.

Supreme Court backs employers in Title VII cases

07/09/2013
With two rulings on June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court handed major victories to employers, limiting liability for supervisory discrimination and setting a higher bar for employees who file retaliation lawsuits. Both decisions clarify long-standing Title VII questions. Both mean employers are less likely to lose potentially costly lawsuits.

Manager files complaint on behalf of subordinates? That’s protected activity

07/05/2013
Don’t assume that just because a manager is in charge of subordinates and champions their discrimination complaints as part of her job, she isn’t engaged in protected activity. It probably is, and any action you take against her can be the basis for a retaliation lawsuit.

Lab must pay $2.73 million to wrongly fired workers

06/27/2013
A San Francisco jury has awarded $2,729,037 to five former employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who alleged wrongful termination and breach of their employment contracts.

Keep all lawsuit settlements confidential!

06/27/2013
Here’s an important warning for employers that end discrimination or harassment lawsuits with settlement agreements that include a confidentiality clause: Keep those terms confidential and accessible only to those who absolutely need to know. Otherwise, you could wind up facing a retaliation lawsuit if word of the settlement leaks out …