Comments on: Nickname’s easier to pronounce: Discrimination?

By: Nisha

Nisha — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:02:42 +0000

Edward, do you have a problem wih people calling you Ed as opposed to Edward? If so, then you should make any applicable (supervisor, co-workers) aware of your preference. If it persists, inform HR, etc. The correct grievance procedure should be followed in any case. Vacation is not the same as refusing to call someone by his/her name. The latter is disrespectful, lazy and unprofessional. Further, it shows complete disregard for diversity. No one on the outside can dismiss this as being frivolous as we are provided with so little information. JR pointed out that there was other stuff occuring. Seems like more people need to take something like this (which seems ridiculous to many of you) more seriously or you will cost your organizations a lot of money. Just because you are not personally offended, does not make it negligible.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:27:22 +0000

EDWARD: excellent point. Shows how frivolous the lawsuit is. Not only that, it sounds to me like Dino is Micro-Nit-Picking. He may not like his job or the people he works with and maybe this is his way to get back at them

By: Edward

Edward — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:27:52 +0000

What damage JR?

What damage was done?

If I wait too long to ask for vacation time (earned) I get denied and people call me Ed not Edward – my given European name should I sue as well?

By: JR

JR — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:25:23 +0000

I think i know this person who is the victim of this discrimination act; he is highly educated and was a supervisor at that company. The nick name is only one of the 24 point incident happened during his employment. He followed every steps of the procedure. HR, EEOC, etc. The problem is the HR was the owner of the company and is the same person who is creating the hostile work environment. Believe me this case is still going on even though it has been four years of survival. The company apple to motion to dismiss and it was denied. Some people are not just for money like some of you said, there was damaged done and someone need to fix it.

By: MMAN

MMAN — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:29:07 +0000

Discrimination law run amuck.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:36:41 +0000

This really is ridiculous. “Dino” is merely a shortened version of his full name. Lots of “Roberts” are called “Rob”, etc., etc. Dino is simply looking for a big payday.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:47:17 +0000

NISHA: Excellent points! He will probably get some sort of compensation for this even if it’s just a settlement to make him go away. I just took a webinar last week called: Discrimination Law – What’s new, What’s coming – and it blew me away how volatile and conversation, comment, word, deed whatever can be between Managers and Employees and even Employees and Employees. I mean, it’s almost as if you must walk on eggshells. To me, it was amazing, how many lawsuits grew from complaints that HR Managers, and other Management and Supervisors dismissed as frivolous, not investigated and were actually won. Lots of time and money had to be dumped into them and it’s much harder to investigate when too much time has passed. Bottom line, our legal system has exploded with Discrimination law suits of every kind and EVERY employee complaint MUST be taken seriously and investigated properly to avoid the hot cauldron of Law Suits. My company hasn’t experienced any yet but they gave me a quick reality check because that does not mean that we won’t. I am in the process of recommending training for all of our managers to keep them updated on the latest discrimination laws because a lot of them have been in their positions a long time and some can get comfortable in how they do things and could possibly cost the company money.

By: mike R

mike R — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:43:00 +0000

I think Nisha provided a very good synopsis of concerns with this case.

I know that in most states (if not all) lawyers won’t take a case like this until after the person has filed a complaint with the state civil rights commission and the EEOC. They will investigate and provide a finding whether they feel discrimination did or did not occur. If the finding is that it likely did not occur, the lawyer is not going to take the case unless they are paid up front. If the finding is that it likely did occur, they will take it on contingency and use the investigation by the state and federal government to make their case and possibly encourage an out of court settlement.

In this case, I would expect a lot of Nisha’s concerns were looked into by the state and federal government and they found more going on than what was reported here.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:09:33 +0000

Marie – they don’t have to appeal yet – they haven’t been found guilty. The judge in this case has determined that there is enough preliminary evidence to hold the matter over for trial by jury.

NJ – you may want to check into an “Employment Practices Liability Insurance” policy. Covers things like discrimination, wrongful termination, etc. Good to have even if your Supervisors are well trained. The deductible may seem a little high, but compared to the cost of the lawyers, etc. to prepare a defense, it can be good protection (always helps to have that Umbrella coverage too).

By: Gene McIntyre

Gene McIntyre — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:02:45 +0000

Only in America…