Below is a review of the posts (on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) from the past week. You can check out the full posts by clicking on the links.
The post on Sunday 4/1/18 was a Happy Easter wish (to those who celebrate it). That’s it.
TAKEAWAY: Sometimes you just have to step away and enjoy the season.
The post on Monday 4/2/18 was about a $13M award in a sexual harassment jury trial. That included $11M for punitive damages so it will probably be reduced as a result of statutory caps. The compensatory and emotional distress damage award of $1.7M will probably stand. So what happened to lead to these numbers? The plaintiff was employed for 30 years. Her suit alleged inappropriate conduct by her immediate supervisor beginning years before. That conduct included many comments such as “I would tap that ass if you wasn’t so old”, “Damn, you look good”, and others in the post. Her work was also determined based on her sex as noted in the post. After reviewing what is required to prove a hostile work environment claim, the post applies it to this case.
TAKEAWAY: Train employees, especially managers, what to say and not say to employees and take action if they stray.
In the post on Tuesday 4/3/18 we learned an employer rejects older applicant: “age will matter”. Yes it will – in the lawsuit. Here, an IT staffing company paid $50,000 to settle an EEOC age discrimination suit. So you apply for a job. The potential employer learns your date of birth. The potential employer sends an email about the year of birth and says “age will matter.” The potential employer gets sued. Yep, saw that coming. More details are in the post, including the other relief the employer will provide.
TAKEAWAY: Don’t make employment-related decisions based on age – or your pocketbook might get a lot lighter.
The post on Wednesday 4/4/18 asked: is condo or homeowners’ Association liable for injuries on Association property? The answer is “it depends”. On whether the Association breached a duty of care. On whether the Association controlled the property that contained the hazard – with control being defined as in the post. Are there defenses the Association can assert? Of course. They include that there was no dangerous condition and others in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Associations must be vigilant about property they own or control, but that does not always translate to liability for every injury that occurs on the property.
In the post on Thursday 4/5/18 we learned about 8 helpful hints on what not to say (or do) to a pregnant employee. “Do not get pregnant, you have too many children, and the next person to get pregnant should stay home and consider herself fired!” Don’t say that. If only that were not something that an employer actually said to employees. The post contains what else the employer said. Ok, hint #1 done. The next hint is not to assume you as the employer know what’s best for the pregnant woman of her unborn child – let her make any decisions that may affect either of them. Hint #3: don’t say something stupid, especially if it is being recorded. Hints 4-8 are in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Treat pregnant employees just like all other employees. Let them make decisions about what they can and cannot do.
The post on Friday 4/6/18 told us the EEOC sued an employer over a forced retirement policy. Ouch. An oral surgery practice will pay $47,000 to settle the suit. Apparently it fired Karen just after she turned 65 (and after having worked there 37 years!). Why was she fired? The Company’s policy. The post tells us why that’s so wrong.
TAKEAWAY: As we said Tuesday, don’t make employment-related decisions based on age. Make them based on job performance.
Finally, in the post yesterday 4/7/18 we read about 11 types of workplace discrimination employers should be aware of (and how to avoid them). First, employers must know what constitutes workplace discrimination. (The post goes into that a bit.) tthe types of discrimination to be aware of include age, sex, race, religion, and 7 others listed in the post. So how does an employer avoid workplace discrimination? Have a handbook / policy manual and evenly enforce it. Two other ways are listed in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Know the law, obey the law, act (or don’t act) uniformly, and consult an attorney when in doubt or to help keep your nose clean.
York, Pennsylvania 17403