Articles Posted in Anti-Harassment

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Back in the early Summer of 2017, most of the experts — the pundits, if you will — were predicting that American businesses were not going to spend as much in 2018 on advice from employment law attorneys.

Then, in September 2017, along came a guy named Harvey Weinstein. Continue reading

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More than ever, American workplaces are emphasizing diversity by targeting hires of different races, religions, ethnicities, genders, cultural and educational backgrounds, work experience, etc. This variety promotes different viewpoints, better problem-solving, a just a more dynamic workplace.  Generally, this results in businesses attracting better talent, reducing turnover, and improving the brand and reputation.

But, with different backgrounds may come a different appreciation of social norms.

I have an example for you.

Continue reading

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Yesterday morning, I read my friend Jon Hyman’s post on LinkedIn about a lawsuit in which a person of color alleged that various supervisors and managers:

  • Frequently called him the “n-word”;
  • Told him to “reach his black hands out” while handing him a box; and
  • Offered him a banana while saying, “Monkeys like bananas.”

Allegedly, a group of white employees also hung a sign in the workplace that said, “WHITE ONLY.” Continue reading

Bilingual signsWhen an employer is faced with a sexual-harassment lawsuit, one of its best defenses is that the company took reasonable care (e.g., policy, training) to prevent sexual harassment (and then addressed complaints in a manner that is reasonably designed to end the sexual harassment)

In EEOC v. Spud Seller (opinion here), the employer had an anti-harassment policy that detailed what constitutes sexual harassment and how to report it. Further, it specifically advised employees that, “You can feel state that your complaint will receive immediate attention and if the facts support your complaint, the offender will be disciplined.”

Sounds good to me.

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