Legal Issues

Do you stereotype jobs? Get ready for a lawsuit

December 8, 2015
Martina, an experienced forklift operator, applied for two open positions in a Coca-Cola warehouse, but lost out to two less qualified men, according to a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Harassment: Can boss be sued personally?

December 2, 2015
Q. Can the accused harassers be liable for monetary damages in a case where the victim names them in a sexual harassment lawsuit?

How long should we keep job applications?

November 30, 2015
Q. We are swamped with applications, most from people who don’t meet our basic requirements. We typically toss out applications that clearly aren’t from qualified applicants. Should we keep copies?

Lessons from the Courts

November 27, 2015
Don’t stop workers from discussing their salaries … Keep copies of resignation letter, exit interview notes … Employee refuses to wear Santa hat? Let it go.

Can a younger person claim age bias?

November 21, 2015
Q. What constitutes age discrimination? I know it refers to older workers, but can younger ones claim it too? — J.J., Washington

Make sure medical leave requests funnel through HR

November 15, 2015
Elizabeth took intermittent leave after hurting her back in an auto accident. Eventually, her boss told her she wouldn’t get a raise for poor attendance …

When Cupid strikes at the office

November 14, 2015
How to handle workplace romances on your team.

Lessons from the Courts: November ’15

November 10, 2015
A quick look at two recent cases that managers should be aware of.

Requesting Sunday off for ‘religious reasons’ not enough

November 9, 2015
Employees who want to alter their schedule to accommodate religious needs need to do more than simply mention religion generally. At a minimum, they need to explain their religious practices.

Are we mixing employee files inappropriately?

November 2, 2015
Q: “I’ve discovered that at our publishing company of 75 people, each employee has a single personnel file into which all documents go—everything from their new-hire paperwork to performance reviews to doctor’s notes. How must we separate this information going forward to keep legally compliant? We’re supposed to split off certain medical information so that each employee will have different sorts of files, correct?” – Theo, Maryland