Tag: Civil Rights Act

Is There a Difference Between Diversity Training and Harassment Training?

The training question is, “What is the difference between diversity training and harassment training, and what do trainers need to know about adequately covering both topics?” Here is how a training expert responded: “They are quite different and should be different,” says Linda Willing, president of RealWorld Training and Consulting (www.rwtraining.com). She describes harassment/discrimination training […]

Ensure Your Training Program Covers All the Legal Bases

Effective training enables your organization to comply with all legal requirements, thereby avoiding costly lawsuits, audits, and fines. Discrimination Because the affirmative defense for sexual harassment has been extended to other forms of discrimination, it is important to provide more specific and varied training on discrimination. The regulations that apply include: Age Discrimination in Employment […]

Gender Pay Gap? Readers Respond … and How

And some men think the pay gap discriminates against men, not women. Here are the comments (boldface is ours): What about the pay gap between men and women holding the same position, such as happened to Lily Ledbetter? It’s not just a matter of women not seeking out the highest paying jobs–those who do often […]

Case Demonstrates Importance of Training on Same-Sex Harassment

What happened In April 1990, “Kerry” was hired as a parole officer by the New York State Division of Parole. In February 2005, “Shannon,” a female area supervisor, was transferred to oversee the Queens, New York, office where Kerry worked. Kerry alleged that on three occasions between mid-April and mid-September 2005, Shannon sexually harassed her […]

Deputy Terminated During Training Period Points to Racial Bias

What Happened The Warrick County, Indiana, sheriff hired “Connor” as a reserve deputy sheriff in November 2003. Connor received promotions to part-time—and, later, full-time—dispatcher before becoming a full-time deputy sheriff in August 2007. All new deputies are required to complete a 1-year probationary period during which field training officers (FTOs) teach them basic law-enforcement techniques. […]

Security Officer Claims Retaliation After Firearms Trainer Sexually Harassed Him

A male security officer alleged that a male firearms trainer sexually harassed him and that he became the victim of retaliation when he complained of the harassment. What Happened In February 2002, “Clark” started working as a security officer at a nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York—initially as an employee of Wackenhut Services, Inc., […]

Top 10 Potential Perils of Employment Policies

The employee handbook: Probably not the most enjoyable part of your job. It’s even less fun when a judge rules a policy unenforceable for some reason, forcing your company to hand over thousands of dollars to a disgruntled employee or former employee.

Top 10 Employee Handbook Pitfalls

You’ve just been put in charge of writing your company’s employee handbook — lucky you! Fortunately, CED is here to help. Here are 10 common employee handbook drafting pitfalls to avoid, courtesy of the law firm of Lehr Middlebrooks & Vreeland, PC.

SHRM 2011: Employees’ Friends and Family Can Land You in Hot Water, Too

Before terminating or taking any other adverse action against an employee, employers must consider not only whether the employee is in a protected category, but also whether the employee’s friends or family are, too. Lawsuits alleging discrimination or retaliation by association appear to be on the rise, an attorney warned attendees at the Society for Human Resource […]