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New ‘Howard Stern’ ruling opens door to discrimination suit


July 17, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Here comes the judge, Special Report

Do any employees at your company play radio programs by shock jocks such as Howard Stern, Bubba the Love Sponge, or Opie and Anthony? If so, it could create a problem.

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Disability: Do you have to accommodate before they ask?


July 10, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Dubious decisions, Here comes the judge, Special Report, Worst manager of the week

Does an obviously disabled employee need to ask for accommodation before the employer’s duty to accommodate kicks in?

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What good is arbitration if it leads to this?


July 3, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Dubious decisions, Here comes the judge, Special Report

Imagine this: An employee makes a crucial error, one that either costs the company a lot of money or even puts another person’s life in jeopardy. The company fires the employee, only to have an arbitrator reinstate the worker.

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Employee’s affair gets her disciplined — was it fair?


June 26, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Here comes the judge, Special Report

A federal court has ruled that a city did not violate the Constitutional rights of an employee who received a verbal reprimand for having an affair.

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Referral hid employee’s drug use: 5 mil verdict


June 19, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: HR blunder of the week, Here comes the judge, Special Report

HR Blunders has already written about how badmouthing a former employee can get a company in trouble. The opposite — giving a glowing recommendation that glosses over serious problems — can cost companies millions, as a recent court case from Louisiana shows.

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Cost to defend dress code: $150K


June 12, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Dubious decisions, Here comes the judge, Special Report, Uncategorized

Does your workplace dress code address personal features such as facial hair, makeup, tattoos and piercings? Whether such policies are discriminatory continues to be an issue, as the city of Houston is finding out.

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FBI probes co-worker e-mail snooping


June 5, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Employees do the strangest things, Special Report

Once upon a time, snooping on co-workers consisted of listening in on conversations, in person or on the phone, or intercepting written documents. Now, in the Internet age, you can add opening others’ e-mail messages to the list.

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New type of lawsuit: Bullying


May 29, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Here comes the judge, Special Report

What happens when one employee assaults another - verbally? It’s tricky for employees to win cases alleging hostile workplace environments when no form of discrimination is involved. But that might be changing.

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MySpace: Recruiting tool or legal land mine?


May 22, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Dubious decisions, Special Report

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But what about employees’ or applicants’ social networking Web pages? With the popularity of Facebook and MySpace, the intersection of workers’ private and workplace lives is a tricky place to be for many HR pros and hiring managers.

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Domestic partner benefits outlawed?


May 15, 2008 by Fred Hosier
Posted in: Dubious decisions, Here comes the judge, Special Report

Domestic partner benefits outlawed?

As long as your company is consistent, you can give benefits to whomever you want, right? A recent court ruling took that decision away from public employers in one state.

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