The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed today two lawsuits contending that employers’ alleged discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation violates the Title VII ban on sex discrimination. One suit was...more
I have recommended on this blog and in harassment training that “operations” people (in other words, people who aren’t in Human Resources or lawyers) avoid the temptation to investigate workplace harassment complaints on...more
As an employer, what do you do when one of your employees reports being sexually harassed by a vendor?
Easy, right? You call the vendor’s boss and say, “If you want to continue doing business with us, then you will not...more
T.J. Simers, a well-known former sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, is suing the Times for age and disability discrimination and is seeking $18 million. We’re providing regular coverage and analysis of the jury...more
Last week I heard David Lopez, General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, speak about EEOC litigation developments at the annual North Carolina/South Carolina Labor and Employment Law conference....more
10/30/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Background Checks ,
Conciliation ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
LGBTQ ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination
CorpCar Services of Houston (Texas) lost a racial harassment lawsuit filed by two employees based on a dancing gorilla (played by a white woman) who was hired to “entertain” at a mandatory safety meeting. The gorilla’s...more
I’ve been vacationing by the shores of Gitche-Gumee this week, so I’m trying to give myself a little blog-cation as well. Here are some entertaining and controversial legal or employment-related developments from the news...more
9/21/2015
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Colleges ,
Discrimination ,
E-Signatures ,
Federal Contractors ,
Harassment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Kleiner Perkins Caufield ,
Mental Health ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pay Transparency ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Social Networks ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
It should be easy to avoid retaliation, right? Because retaliatory conduct is intentional – you can’t “accidentally” retaliate against someone. You can’t “negligently” seek payback....more
It’s the moment of truth! (Dum-dum-DUM!) Two weeks ago, we talked about harassment “must-haves” 1 and 2: a good, plain-language policy, and training. Last week, we talked about “must-have” 3: the investigation....more
Last week, I posted about harassment “must-haves” for employers, and talked in detail about the first two: a good policy, and training. This week I’d like to talk about “must-have” no. 3 – a prompt, thorough, and fair...more
Maybe it’s just me, but workplace harassment issues seem to come in waves — I’ll go months, or even a year, without an issue, and then WHAM! everybody has a “situation,” or at least they need to get their preventive training...more
Are harassment and retaliation lawsuits all going to the jury now? Are employers doomed? Are the plaintiffs’ lawyers popping the champagne corks? Is the EEOC dancing for joy?...more
Oh, you better watch out! A lot of employers have been naughty. I checked the court dockets, and would you believe all of these employment lawsuits filed in the week before Christmas! ...more
When I do harassment training, I ask my audiences whether they think employers should ban the “N” word even when it’s used by African-Americans among themselves. In my experience, the African-Americans in the audience have...more
According to statistics collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, harassment charges have stayed relatively stable over the past three years, and the number of “cause” determinations has actually declined....more
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is dead again, so there isn’t a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Is there any federal law on same-sex harassment or discrimination? If so, what is it?...more
The correct answer is “NO, because the relationship is consensual, so no ‘harassment’ is involved.” People are always surprised at this answer, but the courts generally take the position that favoritism based on a consensual...more