Archive for the ‘Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation’ Category
CALIFORNIA 2015 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS WORKPLACE RETALIATION AND SEX DISCRIMINATION TRENDS
The California Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) has published its annual statistical report on unlawful workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation charges filed in 2015. Individuals filed 17,915 complaints with DFEH last year, up a few hundred from the 2014 total. Many contained multiple accusations. Retaliation, disability and sex-based grievances top the 2015 list, […]
UNLAWFUL RETALIATION DEFINED
Federal Government Publishes Final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation Claims Mary, an African-American employee, complained to her co-workers that her pay was lower than that of Caucasian employees doing similar work. Upon overhearing these conversations, Mary’s supervisor reprimanded her for “distracting” her co-workers with discussions about perceived pay discrimination. The supervisor may be surprised to learn […]
JOB INTERVIEWER GUIDELINES
How to Find the Qualified Candidates Without Violating Their Rights Conducting job interviews is no easy task. In addition to weeding out clearly unsuitable candidates such as those described below, the interviewer should steer clear of discriminatory questions and topics throughout the process. According to a CareerBuilder nationwide survey (released January 14, 2016), of […]
WORKPLACE VAPING GOES UP IN SMOKE
California Bans Electronic Cigarettes from the Office On May 4, 2016 California Governor Brown signed a series of legislative amendments effective June 9, 2016 which extend smoke-free workplace protections, re-define tobacco products to include e-cigarettes and vaping devices, and raise the legal minimum smoking age from 18 to 21. Although current law prohibits the smoking […]
UNDERSTANDING CALIFORNIA’S EQUAL PAY ACT
LABOR COMMISSIONER ISSUES FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS ON WORKPLACE GENDER PARITY California’s long-established Equal Pay Act (the Act) requires California employers to pay their employees of the opposite sex the same for equal work. As previously covered in Fair Pay Act Aims to Level the Playing Field, the Act’s amendments effective January 1, 2016 make it harder […]
EMPLOYER ZONES OUT
Auto Zone Ordered to Pay $185 Million in Gender Discrimination and Retaliation Case As an example of the destruction that can result from an employer’s neglect of effective prevention training for supervisors and managers, international retailer Auto Zone has fought a losing battle for nearly a decade attempting to defend a California gender discrimination and […]
SMOKIN’ SPUDS GOES DOWN IN FLAMES
Potato Packing Plant Will Pay $450,000 to Settle Sex Harassment Lawsuit Colorado potato packing plant operator Smokin’ Spuds and Farming Technology Inc. recently settled a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of more than a dozen women. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ supervisor […]
CHILL OUT ON THE RETALIATION
Employers Must Not Act Against Workers Seeking Benefits From California’s New Paid Sick Leave Law Starting July 1, 2015, California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (the Act) will require nearly all of this state’s employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The Act carries strict prohibitions on retaliation against workers who […]
ACCOMMODATING RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
EMPLOYERS MUST TAKE THE HINT AND TAKE INITIATIVE U.S. Supreme Court Decision Warns that Companies Ignore at Their Peril Possible Need to Permit Religious Exceptions to Workplace Policies The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 1, 2015 decision in Equal Opportunity Employment Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. requires employers to take special initiative to accommodate […]
EMPLOYERS DUTIES TO REASONABLY ACCOMODATE WORKER DISABILITIES
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits companies employing five or more persons from: 1) discriminating against an employee due to his or her physical disability; 2) failing to make reasonable accommodation for a worker’s known physical disability; 3) failing to engage in a prompt and good faith interactive process with a disabled employee […]