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| GENDER BASED DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SEXUAL |
| The Ninth Circuit finds that "offensive conduct that is not facially sex-specific nonetheless may violate Title VII if there is sufficient circumstantial evidence of qualitative and quantitative differences in the harassment suffered by female and male employees." (EEOC v. National Educ. Ass'n Alaska) |
| Read more Sexual Harassment articles |
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| "ME TOO" EVIDENCE MAY BE HEARD |
| Should a jury hear whether the same type of discrimination happened to another worker? This “me too” testimony may be heard when appropriate. The US Supreme Court decided that there should be no brightline test. (Sprint/United Management v. Mendelsohn) |
| Read more ADEA articles |
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| REVERSE GENDER DISCRIMINATION CASE DISMISSED |
| A male university lecturer sued after not being selected to interview for a new position. The case was dismissed because he "needs more than his own convictions" to prove reverse gender discrimination. He needs "evidence that there is something 'fishy' about the facts at hand." (Gore v. Indiana Univ., 7th Cir.) |
| Read more Sex Discrimination articles |
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| SECRET CIA AGENT'S TITLE VII CLAIMS DISMISSED |
| In order to attempt to prove discrimination with respect to a promotion, an African American CIA operations officer would have to disclose highly classified secrets. The state secrets doctrine was used to dismiss the case. The Court recognized the possibility of unfair consequences for individuals in order to protect the greater public good. (Sterling v. Tenet 4th Cir..) |
| Read more Race Discrimination articles |
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| E-DISCOVERY/METADATA |
| In discovery of an age discrimination layoff case, plaintiff is entitled to spreadsheets which include metadata. Metadata describes how, when and by who data was collected, created, accessed and modified. (Williams v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., D. Kan.) |
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| $182,000 AWARD IN REVERSE BIAS CASE REVERSED |
| Hispanic worker was not disciplined for the same offense. "Alleged theft of alcohol. . . is not the same as stealing money from a client's gift table . . . [because] the latter can result in a significant loss of business." Since the employees were not similarly situated they could not be used as comparators to support a race discrimination claim. (Bryant v. Compass Group USA Inc. 5th Cir.) |
| Read more Race Discrimination articles |
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| NO DUTY TO INVESTIGATE |
| A male advertising manager complained about sexual harassment by a female general manager. After the employer refused to handle the complaint anonymously, the advertising manager insisted on handling the situation himself. His actions excused the employer from having to fully investigate the sexual harassment claim. (Hardage v. CBS Broad. Inc., 9th Cir.) |
| Read more Sexual Harassment articles |
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| PERSONALITY TRAIT TESTING |
| Pre-hire personality trait testing that could be used to diagnose psychiatric disorders is a prohibited medical exam under the ADA. (Karraker v. Rent-A-Center, 7th Cir) |
| Read more ADA articles |
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DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING
Interactive
Employment Training, Inc. and AIG co-developed a course used by
the Department of Justice, Charter Communications, Diageo and
many other employers. The course won Human Resource Executive's
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| AFTER ACQUIRED EVIDENCE USED IN FAILURE TO HIRE CASE |
| A woman sued for sex discrimination because she was not hired as a truck driver for the county. Her case was dismissed after speeding tickets were discovered that made her unqualified for the position. (Underwood v. Perry County Commission, 11th Circuit) |
| Read more Sex Discrimination articles |
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DIVERSITY: THE VALUE OF MUTUAL RESPECT
Valuable employees are often lost because of personality or interpersonal conflicts. Course developed to encourage employees to think about their own personality style, provide guidelines and action words to open doors. Contains unique interactive tool to help employees deal with co-workers who "drive them crazy."
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| Click here to learn more |
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| LIQUIDATED DAMAGES UNDER ADEA ARE APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC EMPLOYERS |
| Punitive damages are generally not imposed against public employers. However, the Second Circuit finds an exception under the ADEA. (Cross v. New York City Transit Auth.) |
| Read more ADEA articles |
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| FEMALE INVESTIGATOR LAWFULLY PAID LESS |
| An Illinois agency hired a female security investigator for $1,261 a month less than a man hired at the same time in the same classification. The Seventh Circuit ruled that the pay disparity was lawfully based on salary histories not gender. (Wernsing v. Illinois Dept. of Human Services) |
| Read more EPA articles |
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| PREGNANCY AND THE FMLA |
| A mother armed with a doctor's note requested an FMLA leave to help coach her daughter during childbirth. The Court found that pregnancy is not a serious health condition for FMLA purposes unless there are complications. (Cruz v. Publix Super Markets, Inc., 11th Cir.) |
| Read more FMLA articles |
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