Harassment
'Bruised feelings' don't cut it in same-sex harassment lawsuit, court rules
A supervisor touches a subordinate’s butt, continually makes comments on his appearance and asks him out for drinks. Seems like a pretty solid case of sexual harassment, right?
'But he showed me his … Why can't I sue for sexual harassment?'
Let’s set the scene for a recent lawsuit: A male worker exposed himself to a female co-worker and showed her explicit pictures of himself. Then, word spread about the incident in the workplace. Sounds like a slam-dunk sexual harassment lawsuit, right?
'Hostile work environment'? One bad act can do it
Here’s a crucial reminder for your managers: A single incident can create a “hostile work environment.”
'It's not discrimination if we never tell her'
There’s a misconception that e-mail can ever be truly private. As this recent case shows, there’s always a chance that messages will find their way into the hands of unintended recipients.
'Textual harassment': Should you ban text messages at work?
A total of 46 states have cyber-stalking laws on the books, including penalties for harassment via text message. What’s an employer’s responsibility for monitoring text messages and acting on potentially offensive communication?
#MeToo turns 5: What modern sexual harassment training looks like today
As #MeToo turns five, it’s clear that the movement has generated an increased awareness about sexual harassment and assault. And as countless numbers of people shared their stories, one thing became all-too-clear: a lot of that harassment happened at work. That truth probably strikes fear in the heart of HR pros everywhere. First and foremost,…
11 reasons to pay attention to EEOC's new discrimination guidance
The EEOC’s latest proposed guidance covers a topic a lot of employers probably think they already know well: national origin discrimination. But the new guidance throws in a few wrinkles about what’s considered discriminatory — and how to stay in compliance — that employers need to know. The proposed guidance released by the EEOC expresses…
3 costly mistakes that could be lurking in your documentation
It’s not always what’s missing from employee documentation that could get you in trouble. It’s also what may already be in your documentation that could land you on the wrong end of a lawsuit.
3 little words from CEO propel worker's retaliation lawsuit
Here’s more proof that managers (and executives) need to keep their opinions to themselves and just stick to the facts when disciplining employees. Otherwise, they could create a path for employees to sue.
3 new hard-to-believe sexual harassment cases
These three cases are about as bad as sexual harassment lawsuits get.
30 employee handbook do's and don'ts from the NLRB
To help employers craft handbooks that don’t violate the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a compilation of rules it has found to be illegal — and rewritten them to illustrate how they can comply with the law.
4 ways to make your sexual harassment training more effective
Sexual harassment prevention training is generally not HR professionals’ favorite thing. Here are some guidelines to make the experience more useful for both management and employees — courtesy of guest poster Jimmy Lin, vice president of The Network.
5 new California laws for 2018 that could affect all HR pros soon
With the new year came new rules for California employers. And even if you don’t do business in the Golden State, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these new regulations, which could wind up affecting your state sooner rather than later.
5 off-the-clock activities that can get employees fired
A lot of employees, especially your troublemakers (you know who they are), think they’re safe when they leave the work premises. They’re not.
6 common manager mistakes that can get your company sued
What do employment attorneys see as the common thread that lands well-meaning employers in court time and time again? Costly mistakes by their front-line managers.
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