by Jeffrey S. Beck
Most employers are aware that to meet the burden of establishing a discrimination claim under the indirect method (i.e., without “smoking gun” evidence of discriminatory intent), an employee must offer evidence that similarly situated individuals outside her protected class were treated more favorably. While that principle is well established, cases can turn [...]

The old saying goes that the devil is in the details. When considering the doctrine of at-will employment, it may be more correct to say the answers are in the details. But, that doesn’t mean some of those details aren’t a bit devilish to decipher.
HR professionals often struggle with termination decisions. The decision is easy [...]

by Boyd A. Byers
The thirst for revenge is among the strongest of human emotions. In fact, the innate desire to “get even” has driven much of history. But acting on vindictive feelings can have dire consequences — particularly in the world of employment law.

by Reggie Gay
Q: We have a job applicant who worked for us approximately six years ago. There’s nothing negative in her file, but there were some issues with her job performance. Neither of her former supervisors wants to hire her back. She has applied several times and has received rejection letters, but she keeps reapplying. [...]

by Amy M. McLaughlin
A recent decision from the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reiterates an employer’s obligation to ensure that its decisionmakers act without discriminatory or retaliatory animus. The employer in the following case allowed a decisionmaker whom it knew harbored racial animus to fire a black worker for poor performance. That move cost [...]

Employers have started hiring again and are often overwhelmed with huge numbers of resumes, even for entry-level positions. Some companies have decided that an effective way to identify the best candidates is to refuse to consider job applicants who are currently unemployed. But a number of human resources professionals, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), [...]

When the economy declines, it’s a safe bet that the number of discrimination claims filed against employers will increase. And as we are currently in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, employment law attorneys weren’t surprised when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported this week that it received an unprecedented number of [...]

Q: I own and operate a business in which physically demanding work is part of the employees’ daily activities. I recently hired several employees who I thought were qualified for the job. However, I quickly learned that they weren’t in good enough health to do what was required of them. This is causing a lot [...]

by Sam R. Fulkerson
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in January that 93,277 workplace discrimination charges were filed nationwide during 2009 — the second-highest level ever — and monetary relief obtained for victims totaled more than $376 million. The 2009 data show that private-sector job bias charges alleging discrimination based on disability, religion, and [...]

In today’s world of corporate belt-tightening and budget cutbacks, you might find yourself wondering whether the expense of an HR staff is actually justified by the benefits. After all, HR doesn’t create revenue for the company — it doesn’t operate the machinery that produces the widgets, and it doesn’t drive sales.
In fact, the perception might [...]