Tag: retaliation

How Should You Address Employees Who ‘Won’t Go Quietly’ When They Quit?

How you leave a job can make a huge impact on how you move forward, but it can also make a huge impact on the company you leave. Recent research conducted by Reflektive, a people management platform, revealed interesting insights concerning the connection between unfair performance reviews and how likely people are to quit. Additionally, […]

Even Among Friends, Office Affair Is OK … Until It Isn’t

This September will mark the 25th anniversary of the premier of Friends. It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years since we all pulled up a couch to relax at Central Perk and watch Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey navigate their 20s in New York City. For this “episode” of […]

roles

Boss, You Can’t Say That—It’s Retaliation

When a federal jury in a retaliation case hands a $1.5 million verdict to a Phoenix police sergeant, the case gets my attention. The April 10, 2019, verdict made headlines in the Arizona Republic, where the lawyer for Sergeant Jeffrey Green extolled the “big and worthwhile victory.”

EEOC

Tennessee Federal Court Finds Title VII Doesn’t Prohibit Sexual Orientation Discrimination

As we’ve discussed in previous articles, federal courts across the country are struggling with whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation. An East Tennessee federal district court recently concluded that it doesn’t. In the case before the court, a woman claimed she was fired […]

harassment

Office Romances: Fallout from Breakup Can Cause Headaches Down the Road

The federal district court of Minnesota recently heard a case regarding sexual harassment after the breakup of a consensual sexual relationship between an employee and her supervisor. The supervisor allegedly was displeased with the breakup and was unsuccessful in restarting the relationship, and a tense work environment ensued. The court ultimately held that the allegations […]

fired

Firing Employee Who Made Threats: Opposition Isn’t Always Protected

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently found that an employee who made violent threats on Facebook couldn’t sue her former employer for retaliation after she was terminated. The court’s decision is important because it allows employers to make termination decisions when a protected complaint is pending. In other words, not all opposition is protected.

When Is a Discrimination Complaint against a Manager an Act of Harassment?

What if a manager accused of unlawful discrimination based on employees’ religion asserts that the complaint itself is an act of harassment? You owe duties all around, and you may not be able to perform one duty without risking a violation of the other. See how one employer successfully avoided that minefield.

FMLA

The FMLA and Intermittent Leave: Proceed with Caution

A federal judge in Shreveport, Louisiana recently allowed a former employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit alleging interference and retaliation to proceed to trial after he was terminated for an alleged attendance policy violation during his previously approved intermittent leave.