Tag: Age Discrimination

Severance Agreements: Drafting Do’s and Don’ts for Avoiding EEOC Attention

Van Parys, who is with Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP in Sacramento, offered his tips at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Orlando. Recent EEOC Actions Two recently filed lawsuits, in which severance agreements were called  overly broad and unenforceable, may help employers fashion their own severance agreements, says Van Parys. EEOC […]

The perils of firing an older, long-tenured worker

by Jonathan C. Sterling Q We have an employee over age 65 who has been a manager for over 40 years and has excellent evaluations in his file. Recently we have learned that his department is possibly committing fraud in their documentation of paperwork. He doesn’t abide by company policy, doesn’t meet deadlines, and has […]

Age discrimination or legitimate termination? Firing a 65-year-old can be tricky

What should an employer do when faced with a longtime manager with stellar performance reviews who doesn’t adhere to company policy, misses deadlines, has been written up for sexual harassment, and may be responsible for committing fraud? And does it complicate the situation if that manager is 65 years old?  Those were questions recently put […]

What Laws Relate to Antidiscrimination in the Workplace?

No employer wants to be accused of discrimination. Employers strive to treat employees fairly and act without improper bias. To do this and also remain in legal compliance, it’s more important than ever to understand the various laws that protect employees from different types of discrimination.

4 Benefits of Effective Job Descriptions

Writing job descriptions may seem to be an onerous task, but if done well, there can be many benefits for your organization. “Unfortunately, not all hiring managers and companies value a well-developed job description. So, it’s critical to understand the rewards – along with the mitigating risks as they apply to federal, state and local […]

Managing the message in the hiring process in Canada: human rights risks

By Marc Rodrigue Hiring a new employee can be a lengthy process, fraught with complex evaluations of skills, qualifications, and other attributes. The whole process must of course comply with applicable provincial and federal antidiscrimination laws. What people say during the process may provide evidence that a hiring decision is discriminatory. Where multiple people are […]

Here Comes EEOC 2013—Charges, Investigations, and Claims

Review of Charge Activity, Backlog, and Benefits Provided On November 19, 2012, the EEOC announced the publication of the FY 2012 Performance and Accountability Report. During FY 2012, the Commission again received nearly 100,000 charges, with the past 3 years involving a record number of charges in the Commission’s 47-year history. Since FY 2006, there […]

Managing the end to mandatory retirement

by Keri Bennett As we reported previously, the Canadian federal government is about to join most of the provinces in making mandatory retirement, for the most part, unlawful. That deadline is fast approaching – December 15, 2012. What can employers do until then? According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, very little. Human Rights Commission […]

What Employers Should Expect from a Ramped-Up EEOC

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is trying to buck a trend. While government budget cuts have become the norm, the EEOC is requesting for fiscal year 2012 an $18 million increase from 2011. The agency says it needs more money to restore enforcement and legal staff positions, modernize technology, and expand training, among other […]

Being Replaced by Computer Program Isn’t Age Discrimination

Who knows? In 20 years, there might be a robot writing these articles; we’ve faced that reality. Eventually, we may all be phased out by machines, programs, and metallic entities, the likes of which we’ve yet to even imagine. As the world has become more automated and efficient, we have all witnessed downsizing and have […]