When investigating an employee’s complaint of harassment—sexual or otherwise—tailor your inquiries to the facts of that case.
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When investigating an employee’s complaint of harassment—sexual or otherwise—tailor your inquiries to the facts of that case.
Read MoreFor decades, the EEOC has taken the position that employers can be liable for sexual harassment by third parties like customers and clients if they knew or should have known that the harassment was taking place but didn’t take steps to stop it. Now, a recent federal appeals court has ruled that the EEOC’s position isn’t valid and the only way an employer can be held liable for third-party harassment is if it intended for the harassment to occur.
Read MoreNot everyone wants to spend their time deleting emails, blocking co-workers they don’t see eye to eye with or reading rants on message boards or “forward to all” emails. But employers sometimes don’t know when they can discipline over employees’ posts on and off company resources. Now, a federal appeals court has clarified some limits in a recent case.
Read MoreMake it a standard practice to retain every written document concerning employee complaints. If an employee ends up suing you, he may try to embellish the facts—or worse.
Read MoreTake a supervisor who promises a promotion or some other benefit in exchange for sex, and the subordinate agrees. Can that subordinate still sue for sexual harassment? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
Read MoreSometimes, as happened in a recent case, management decides that rather than listen to the bystander, they’ll punish the messenger. That’s not going to play well with the EEOC.
Read MoreThe cardinal rule for racist slurs and jokes is this: Never ignore a complaint without an investigation or assume an innocent intent. And watch what you say in emails!
Read MoreIf you are in the restaurant or entertainment industry and require employees to wear revealing outfits at work, prepare for an unfortunate if entirely predictable consequence: Customers may harass your workers. That’s a genuine legal risk, and it’s just as serious as if a supervisor was doing the harassing.
Read MoreTeens can ask a question and get an instant (sometimes inaccurate) answer. Couple that with government websites designed to provide teens with accurate information about their rights, and you have a recipe for a PR nightmare.
Read MoreAccording to the EEOC, agency guidance does not have the force of law.
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