New Supreme Court Term

The Supreme Court will begin its new term on October 1, and employers should pay close attention to the docket.  This year, the Court will hear several employment law cases, and in particular several ADEA matters. 

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects workers age 40 and over from employment-related discrimination.  As your workforce ages and new generations start working (and supervising), make sure you understand at least the basics of the ADEA.  A great place to start is the Age Discrimination part of the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html.

Your responsibility to your employees

All business owners and managers know that they have a responsibility to provide a safe, harassment-free workplace for their employees.  While most employee harassment claims stem from co-worker or manager harassment, employers also have a duty to protect their workers against harassment from vendors and customers as well, as a recent federal lawsuit illustrates:

A former restaurant server won a $75,000 settlement against her employer because managers failed to act after she reported ongoing harassment from customers based on the race of her children. 

The suit states that the server, who is white, brought her bi-racial children into the restaurant on her day off.  Soon after that, a couple who frequented the restaurant began calling the server offensive names within ear-shot of her co-workers and said that they didn’t want her to wait on them.  Although the managers were aware of the situation, they did nothing to try to stop the harassment.  After over a year of harassment, the server quit.

Michelle Eisele, supervisory trial attorney with the EEOC, stated, ““I think the manager thought (the couple) have a First Amendment right and that’s who they are and they’re really good customers.” 

As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to post an EEOC sign stating, “CMR’s (the restaurant’s owner) managers are expected to ensure that their employees are not subjected to harassment prohibited by law, including harassment by co-workers, customers, or other parties with whom CMR does business,” as well as provide training on policies prohibiting discrimination and race-based harassment.

source:The Herald Bulletin

How would YOUR company fare in a similar situation? Do you have a strong, clear harassment policy? Our attorneys can help you create or fine-tune and effective policy. We offer training sessions for your or your supervisors on identifying discrimination and harassment. Contact our office for more information on how we can help you be proactive in managing and protecting your employees.

Caregiver Discrimination, Part II

Last week we wrote about why understanding Caregiver Discrimination is so important.  This week, we’ll give some examples of how this discrimination takes place.

In part, the EEOC Enforcement Guidance sets forth the following instances which may be considered discrimination:

• Treating male caregivers more favorably than female caregivers
• Reassigning a new mother based on an assumption that she will not be as committed to her job
• Lowering subjective evaluations of an employee’s performance based on the fact that they have recently become caregivers (even when their performance hasn’t declined)
• Assumptions about pregnant workers
• Discrimination against male caregivers
• Refusing to hire a worker who is a single parent of a child with a disability based on the assumption that caregiving responsibilities will make the worker unreliable

You can find more examples and explanations at the EEOC website.

How can Hippo & Fleming Law Offices help?

Let our staff consult with you one-on-one or provide training for you and your management team.  We can provide a customized session for your business, and help you resolve real issues.  Contact our office today for more information!

Why you should care about Caregiver Discrimination

The EEOC recently set forth enforcement guidelines regarding Caregiver Discrimination (or Family Responsibility Discrimination).  Although caregiver status is not specifically a protected class under Title VII, more and more employees are suing their employers for discriminating against them for their caregiving responsibilities at home by using other statues, such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and the FMLA.

While the EEOC makes it clear that caregiver status (caregiving responsibilities for  children and/or parents) in itself isn’t protected, it provides plenty of examples where employers can violate other established laws.

 Why should you care?  According to a University of California Hastings College of the Law study, the courts have seen an increase in caregiver discrimination claims – from 97 in 1996 to 481 in 2005.  Several of these cases have produced multi-million dollar settlements for the claimants.  The largest single verdict – an $11.65 million award – went to a man who charged that he was retaliated against for taking time off under the FMLA to care for his aging parents. [Schultz v. Advocate Health, No. 01C-0702 (N.D. Ill. June 5, 2002)]. The case settled for an undisclosed amount in 2003. 

There are currently more than 100 caregiver discrimination lawsuits pending nationwide. 

source: Law.com