We live in a country that affords us many individual freedoms, among them the right to observe the religion of our choice (subject to some reasonable limits). When a job requirement interferes with a sincerely held religious belief an employer must at least try to provide a reasonable accommodation. Generally speaking, employers must not discriminate […]
Don’t Fire a Whistleblower–Even if S/he’s Wrong!!
Your employee alleges discrimination or harassment, or conduct that s/he believes is otherwise illegal. Most of you know that you shouldn’t fire the employee or take some other adverse action in response. I’ve posted about that here. That’s retaliation, and it’s illegal. In a discrimination case, you could pay big bucks for both the discrimination […]
What’s Required to Prove a Federal “Sex-Plus” Harassment Claim?
The First Circuit Court of Appeals answers this question in her 60-page opinion, upholding a $700,000 judgment against the Providence Rhode Island Fire Department in Franchina v City of Providence. This isn’t just any harassment case. The firefighter-plaintiff is/was a woman and a lesbian. Now, you may remember that Title VII does not explicitly prohibit […]
The Sexual Harassment Scandal: How it Should Impact Employers
Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer. These are just a few celebrity names that we have been hearing lately in connection with sexual misconduct allegations. The list has grown exponentially and it looks like it might still be growing. Are women, children, and employees in general safe from sexual harassment or […]
What We Can Learn from Discrimination Claims Against Uber…
Last week we began focusing on Uber, and its recent legal woes. You can find that post here. I touched on four key areas. Let’s focus on the first one, discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims. While I’ve written about these issues before, apparently there are still enough employers who could stand to learn to appreciate the […]