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The Employer Handbook BlogThe Assault Was Essentially Undisputed. So Why Did the Harassment Claim Fail?
A company retreat ended with coworkers pulling a man off an employee he sexually assaulted. The company kept him. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Sexual Harassment
Can a Sexual Harassment Claim Keep the Whole Lawsuit Out of Arbitration? Yes.
Your employee signed an agreement to arbitrate all employment disputes. But a single sexual harassment claim can bring an entire lawsuit, and every other claim with it, into court anyway. Continue reading
Can a Sexual Harassment Claim Discovered Mid-Arbitration Force the Entire Case into Court? A Federal Appellate Court Said Yes.
An arbitration agreement usually decides where an employment dispute will be heard. In this case, evidence uncovered during arbitration opened the door to court instead.
A Judge’s Mug Was Crude Enough to Blog About. A Court Still Said It Wasn’t Harassment
A judge joked about his female employee’s sexuality and kept a mug decorated with cartoon genitalia in his own courtroom. The same judge required her to burn a full day of sick leave every time she needed an hour off for a medical appointment. A federal appeals court still ruled none of it was enough to reach a jury.
Retaliating Against a Harasser by Sharing His Nude Photos Just Cost Her the Case.
A coworker allegedly groped her and threatened her on shift. Years later, she got fired not for reporting it, but for how she finally hit back.
A coworker touched her three times. The first two reports didn’t count. The employer’s response to the third won it the case.
When a coworker grabs a colleague three times, a Seventh Circuit majority says a jury could find sexual harassment. The employer still won. The reason why is more useful to HR than the result.
She Complained About Harassment, Got a Protective Order, and Was Fired the Next Day. An $80K Lesson in Bad Timing.
According to the EEOC, an employee complained about six months of sexual harassment. Her employer allegedly did nothing. So she went to court, got a protective order against the harasser, handed a copy to HR, and was fired the next day. The harasser kept his job.
Can Unpaid Volunteers Sue for Discrimination?
A police department ran a volunteer program that looked and felt a lot like a job, complete with uniforms, badges, ranks, performance reviews, and a paramilitary chain of command. Three young women in the program alleged sex discrimination and retaliation, got dismissed, waited over two years to file charges, and then sued under Title VII. The court shut it all down. Continue reading
One harassment claim can knock an entire case out of arbitration
Employers that rely on arbitration agreements should pay attention to a recent Sixth Circuit decision. One plausible sexual-harassment claim can keep an entire lawsuit in court—even claims that would otherwise go to arbitration. Continue reading
Can employers make employees sign a contract shortening the time to bring Title VII and ADEA claims?
Some employers try. The Fourth Circuit just explained why that trick doesn’t work for these federal discrimination claims. Continue reading