Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

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Hi there.

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?

Notwithstanding Thursday’s feast, I rallied hard over the weekend. Indeed, I needed my energy up to check some boxes on my older daughter’s Christmas list. (She claims that number one is commonplace in Canada. I’m not so sure).

But, I’m taking a break from the shopping to wax employment law for you. Today, I want to get into LGBT rights at work. Continue reading

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One of your supervisors has just been accused of sexual harassment. Rather than spend the money to litigate the case, your company decides to settle. Let’s go through the standard provisions:

  • Settlement payment
  • General release
  • Non-admission
  • Mutual non-disparagement
  • Mutual confidentiality

Ah, not so fast on that last one if your business is in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Continue reading

Good News and Bad NewsThe good news is that I get to play an 80’s rock ballad (youtube, Spotify) as I share with you the bad news that, by the time you read this post, you’re most likely SOL for signing up for “The Employment Law Year in Review,” a free webinar on Thu, Dec 7, 2017 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST.

That’s right, my dudes!

I started advertising the webinar on Monday and, just like that, buh-bye to 1000 attendee slots. I can’t imagine what the secondary market for tickets to next month’s big event must look like right now. Wonder. Wonder. Continue reading

LEGO MARVEL AVENGERSI had one date circled — one date between now and the end of the year.

Later this week, on November 17, Netflix releases Marvel’s The Punisher. If you’ve dorked out gotten culture with any of The Defenders series, then, like me, you’ve been chomping at the bit for this release. But, if you need some enticement, check out the official trailer for Marvel’s The Punisher. It opens with Frank Castle as an early contender for Father Of the Year, teaching his kid Metallica on an acoustic guitar. Seconds later, Castle’s entire family is dead and he’s talking about infiltrating a covert CIA operation. And, at the 1:22 mark of the trailer, we have this exchange between Frank Castle and a sidekick:

Sidekick: You and me, we want the same thing. So, work with me.

Frank Castle: On one condition. I’m gonna kill ’em all.

Sidekick: Yeah, I can live with that.

Dammit, Netflix! Stop twisting my arm! Cause, it hurts so good.

***blows smoke and starts chewing bubble gum cigarette***

Now, if you’re going to circle one other date on the calendar, may I suggest December 7? Yep, I’ve buried the lede long enough. Continue reading

plant-paprika-pepper-grow-82728We’re still got about a month and a half to go, and the list of notable sexual harassers (allegedly) is growing faster than my youngest can eat her peas.

Often, when we hire high-level executives, we resort to employment agreements. And in those employment agreements, we include provisions requiring the new hire to affirm that working for the new company will not cause that person to violate any restrictive covenants or other pre-existing agreements.

So, I have a question for you. Continue reading

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Image Credit: YouTube.com (screenshot)

Juli Briskman was out riding her bicycle when she was passed on the road by Donald Trump’s motorcade. So, she showed ’em the middle finger.

And, it was at that precise moment that a White House photographer traveling with the president as he left one of his golf courses happened to catch the one-finger salute on film. Ms. Briskman a viral star on social media.

Who knew that she would lose her job for it so quickly? Continue reading

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“There’s Little Evidence Sexual Harassment Trainings Work,” wrote Madison Pauly in this article at Mother Jones.

Ms. Pauly notes that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received over 162,000 EEOC Charges of Discrimination between 2010 and 2015. Plus, she cites a University of Oregon associate law professor’s study, which concluded that trainings are “too often ‘a hollow exercise in corporate compliance’ that tend to emphasize that harassment is bad for workplace productivity while glossing over the point that harassment is a kind of discrimination—which she believes could serve a ‘moral anchor’ to make the trainings more convincing.”

Is Ms. Pauly’s article on point? Maybe. Actually, before I commit, let me google “moral anchor.”

Ah, nuts to that. Here’s my hot take on five more reasons why your workplace anti-harassment training is ineffective. Continue reading

“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
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