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The Employer Handbook BlogThere’s retaliation, and then there’s locking the complainant in a walk-in freezer. (Allegedly)
Image Credit https://www.jbcharleston.jb.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000273522/
That’s cold. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment
Can a demotion be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA?
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In the context of an employment discrimination lawsuit, when I think about a demotion, I’m also thinking of retaliation. Continue reading
Folks, it’s never a joke when employees use the N-word at work. Make sure your managers know that.
Image Credit: PeakPX.com – License to use Creative Commons Zero – CC0
Every so often, I receive a Google Alert about some knucklehead who writes something inappropriate — usually a racial slur — on a restaurant receipt. Often, the knucklehead tries to explain her or his actions away as a joke.
2,650,000 more reasons to provide a chair to an employee with a disability who needs one
Image by Tariq Abro from Pixabay
I’m pretty sure that I’ve blogged about this before. But, maybe not. So, either what I’m about to tell you bears repeating, or I’m only going to say this once, so pay attention. Continue reading
Can you fire a supervisor accused of sexual harassment without investigating first? Yep.
Image Credit: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=298867&picture=lifeguard-chair-at-indoor-pool
Today, I want to tell you about a lifeguard who worked for several years for an employer in Washington, DC.
This great federal court decision I read offers seven keys to a proper severance agreement
Image by Andreas Breitling from Pixabay
A lawyer claimed that his employer had discriminated against him based on his race, color, gender, and age, when it terminated his employment and filled a position nearly identical to that which he held prior to his termination with a younger, African-American woman. So he sued.
Oh, I forgot one important fact. By the time he sued, the lawyer-plaintiff had already signed a severance agreement and release (the “Release”). Continue reading
You be the judge: Does this sound like race discrimination to you?
Highway Patrol Images [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Six million reasons to remember that the EEOC continues to take your company’s background checks seriously
On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The EEOC believes that the use of criminal record history and other background checks can have a disparate impact by disproportionately screening out certain minorities without any business-related need.
After several potholes and speedbumps trying to enforce its guidance in the courtroom against employer-defendants, the EEOC has finally won a big race. Continue reading
Courts don’t second-guess non-discriminatory business decisions. Even the tough ones.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
There are times when employers have to make difficult decisions impacting the workplace. Today, I’m going to talk to you about one of them involving an employee who attempted suicide and, subsequently, pressed the company to return him to work.
How to fire a poor performer who complains about discrimination and still avoid a retaliation claim
Image by Christos Giakkas from Pixabay
You have an underperforming supervisor in your workplace. Several employees have complained about her work performance and leadership. So, the plan is to fire her. Except, three weeks before you terminate this supervisor’s employment, she complains about discrimination.
Can you go through with the termination? Or is the timing so suggestive of retaliation that you’re practically guaranteeing a jury trial on that issue?
Let’s find out…