You’re a savvy business owner. You make good investment decisions, hire good people to work for you and you watch your costs. You are a fair person. You’re not racist or sexist. You try to keep things simple. Then you have a difference of opinion with someone who works for you. S/he sues, alleging discrimination […]
My Employee Signed A Severance Agreement. So Why Is S/he Suing Me?
Have you ever had to let an employee go? If you haven’t, chances are you will at some point. Do you or would you give severance pay? If so, hopefully you get a signed severance agreement that includes a release from your soon-to-be former employee. I’ve written here, here and here about severance agreements. This […]
Yes, You Can Be Liable for Harassment by Non-Employees, Even if They’re Mentally Ill…
By now, most of us know that Title VII, the ADA and a number of other federal laws prohibit harassment by employers. You probably also know that an employer can be held liable for harassment based on sex (including pregnancy), race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability or genetic information by an employee’s supervisor or […]
“Sexual Horseplay” or Same-Sex Harassment?
Sometimes employees get physical. Sometimes it’s just “juvenile behavior” or “horseplay”, involving all employees and is arguably not based on one’s sex. Even physical contact with a sexual overtone might trigger tort liability but might not be sexual harassment. If it’s your employees involved in this type of behavior though, I doubt you really want […]
3.75 Million Reasons Why This is Not Just Another Discrimination Case…
Koch Foods of Mississippi, LLC a poultry processing plant just settled two discrimination suits against it. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first employment discrimination case and it won’t be the last. However I believe this case is more than that. First there are migrant workers complaining of abuse. There are women complaining of abuse and that […]