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The Employer Handbook BlogYou be the judge: Does this sound like race discrimination to you?
Highway Patrol Images [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Articles Posted in Race
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
This leaked deposition transcript from a race discrimination case is like a bizarro embassy scene from Lethal Weapon 2.
Image Credit: YouTube.com
Do you know that scene from Lethal Weapon 2? The one where Joe Pesci (Leo Getz) tells the representative from the South African embassy to convince his friend Danny Glover (‘Alphonse’) not to move to South Africa because he’s black.
I’ll pause for a sec while you watch it.
Common sense prevails! School reinstates black man it fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop
Image Credit: Photofunia.com
Yesterday, I blogged here about a black man who was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop. According to multiple reports, his employer’s position was that it had a zero-tolerance policy on racial slurs in the workplace — inexcusable, regardless of context.
Well, the school hired him back.
Still, I asked readers of this blog how they would have handled a similar situation in their workplace. Continue reading
A black man was fired for repeating a racial slur directed at him as he told the person to stop
Last week, I quizzed you on how to handle a request for a religious accommodation to be excused from attending a weekend company holiday party. That was easy.
Today’s ‘what would you do’ is much more difficult. Continue reading
NJ issues “Guidance on Race Discrimination Based on Hairstyle”
Image Credit: YouTube
Just before Christmas last year, a referee in a high school wrestling match in New Jersey told an African-American wrestler that he must cut his dreadlocks or forfeit the match. This made national news.
Sometimes, it doesn’t take a law degree to know that an employer may have really screwed something up.
Image Credit: Publicdomainfiles.com (http://www.publicdomainfiles.com/show_file.php?id=13929356417087)
I can often draw upon my years of experience as an employment lawyer to predict from reading the first paragraph of a federal court opinion how the court is going to decide the discrimination claim before it. Continue reading
Her resignation letter described a “great experience” at work. Then she sued for hostile-environment constructive discharge.
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Fred the Oyster [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Monster’s advice is pretty spot on. Except, that is, when the individual later decides to assert claims of hostile work environment and constructive discharge.
Because, as you’ll find out in this post, nothing undermines those claims like a thoughtful resignation letter. Continue reading
🔥🚒👨🚒Firefighter fired for hostile social media posts may have been discriminated against🔥🚒👨🚒
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Seaman Barry Riley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The fire department began receiving complaints about these posts. Plus, the posts violated various provisions of the employee handbook. So, the next day, the firefighter was, err, fired. (For more on the initial lawsuit, you can read this story from CBS News.)
Fast forward three years and the firefighter is this close to a federal jury hearing his race discrimination claims. Continue reading
The top five, juiciest, greatest-ever HR compliance posts that I’ve read in the past 24 hours
But, first, I have a confession to make. I only read six posts. Continue reading