I read The Employer Handbook every day. That’ll be $10.”
A federal court has allowed a former prostitute to proceed with claims that her subsequent employer sexually harassed her. More about this defense counsel’s wet dream, after the jump.
The EEOC reported this week that retaliation charges outpaced race discrimination charges at the agency during fiscal year 2010. This is the first time that retaliation charges (under all statutes) surpassed race discrimination charges at the EEOC, making retaliation charges the most frequently type of charge filed at the EEOC last year.
The EEOC’s statistics on retaliation confirm what employers and employment lawyers already know – retaliation claims against employers continue to increase in frequency. Retaliation claims pose a unique hazard to employers; an otherwise baseless claim (for example, an unsubstantiated discrimination claim), when not handled appropriately, can morph into a legitimate retaliation claim. What actions can Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware employers take to prevent a defensible claim from turning into a less than defensible retaliation lawsuit?
My colleague, Katharine Hartman, a labor and employment law attorney who practices with me at Dilworth Paxson LLP, has some suggestions for you after the jump…
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By now, hopefully, you’ve read my post “How Facebook Can Make Or Break Your Case.” I wrote it primarily for my fellow members of the defense bar. So, if you haven’t yet read it, and you generally represent employers, shame on you! Stop reading this and go read it now. RIGHT NOW!
Otherwise, keep reading this post to see what plaintiffs’ lawyers
should be doing with social media to help advance their clients cases.
Bill Leonard at the Society for Human Resource Management reports that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has approved a final version of its regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, a version of which the EEOC put out for public comment back in September 2009.
More after the jump.
A big part of my job as a labor and employment attorney is providing anti-harassment training to employees and supervisors. First, I help them identify what constitutes unlawful harassment in the workplace. Then I walk them through how to report and address it. Here, I emphasize that retaliation against a victim or a witness is never acceptable and is grounds for immediate termination. But, I also remind everyone that an employee who complains about unlawful harassment doesn’t receive a get-out-of-jail-free card. That is, if the “victim” violates company policy — e.g., by participating in behavior that also violates the anti-harassment policy — then discipline will follow. That’s not “retaliation.” Call it a rude awakening.
Just ask the Eighth Circuit. I’ll explain after the jump.
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Confession: I find bankruptcy VERY boring. And I loathe it. I’m a labor and employment attorney. When partners approach my door with bankruptcy assignments, I pick up the phone and pretend to yell at opposing counsel. So far I’m batting 1000.
But when I learned that the Third Circuit in Rea v. Federated Investors ruled that a private employer may refuse employment to a job applicant who has ever filed for bankruptcy, I mustered up the will power for this blog post.*Checks ESPN.com* Consider it my 2011 bankruptcy contribution.
I’ll break down the court’s ruling after the jump.
Recently, I offered readers two ways to avoid employee claims of unlawful harassment. But let’s assume someone complains. It will happen, trust me. Are you prepared to conduct a thorough and efficient workplace investigation? If not, check out my article in Bloomberg Law Reports.
You can read it here.
If you are reading this and you are a New Jersey employer, then the answer is yes. But only under certain circumstances. I’ll lay out the test for you after the jump.
Next week is our firm holiday party. And I am a big fan.
At the party, I like to drink Four Loko boilermakers all night until I get blackout drunk socialize with colleagues for a few hours before cabbing home for the evening. Generally, I go crazy have a good time. But I rarely always keep it in check. There are others like me at OTHER holiday parties who succumb to the sweet nectar of the gods get a bit tipsy after consuming too many drinks. And where there’s Tipsy, both Handsy and Sailormouth generally come out to play too.
This will could happen at your business. So what steps are you taking to prepare for this inevitability possibility (besides having my number on speed-dial)? Not sure what to do? I’ll help you with some tips after the jump.
Recently, I had an article published in Bloomberg Law Reports about how employers can reduce their potential exposure to employee litigation by implementing a strong anti-harassment policy and then coupling that with training for supervisors and employees. If I do say so myself — and I do — this is a good read for any employer.
You can read my article here.
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