An employer investigated a racial harassment complaint, offered a transfer, and watched the harassment continue. A federal appeals court just sent the hostile work environment claims to a jury.
Here’s a scenario HR nightmares are made of: an employee allegedly invents a sexual harassment accusation to eliminate a rival for a coveted position. The rival gets fired. The employer gets sued for defamation.
At the British Academy Film Awards – better known as the BAFTAs, the U.K.’s version of the Oscars – a man with Tourette’s Syndrome interrupted the ceremony while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award, shouting a racial slur.
That public moment raises a workplace question: If an employee with Tourette’s involuntarily uses the N-word around Black colleagues or the B-word around women, does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require the employer to keep him in his job? Continue reading
Sometimes the timing writes the headline for you. On October 31, a federal court in New Jersey decided a harassment case that involved an unforgettable Halloween costume and a reminder that bad taste is not always a legal violation. Continue reading
For several weeks, employment law and HR professionals have been hearing about the term “illegal DEI.” But what did “illegal DEI” actually mean—especially to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal discrimination watchdog? Until recently, that was anyone’s guess. Continue reading
Yesterday, we addressed the risks of not letting HR do its job by investigating sexual harassment complaints. Today, we’ll discuss a recent decision underscoring the importance of thoroughly investigating employee complaints.
An employer recently learned the hard way that a proper response to an employee’s complaint of harassment involves more than simply investigating it.
I’ll explain. Continue reading
Image Credit: Photofunia.com (https://photofunia.com/results/5da05f89089f7acb5a8b4590)
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
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/eyes-surprise-wow-expression-open-312093/)
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:
Allegedly, a group of white employees also hung a sign in the workplace that said, “WHITE ONLY.” Continue reading
The Employer Handbook Blog