2002 State by State Guide to Human Resources Law
by John F. Buckley (Editor) and Ronald M. Green
Each year, state legislatures pass hundreds of new laws that affect the employer-employee relationship. And the penalties for noncompliance become more and more stringent. That’s why it’s more important than ever for you to keep track of the statutes and court decisions governing employment law in your state…
and only the State by State Guide to Human Resource Law makes it easy.
Practicing Organization Development : A Guide for Consultants
by William J. Rothwell (Editor), et al
Here’s an exciting collection of readings by experts in the field of organization development. Enhanced with exhibits, activities, instruments, case studies, and more, each section shows you how to implement the change process. The editors, themselves leaders in the field of OD, include insights… Read More
Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace
by Ron Zemke, et al
Generations at Work is intended to help you bridge the gap or, more accurately, gaps between people of different ages who work at your company. What’s so vexing about the workplace is that four different groups are vying for roles and recognition. There are the veterans, boomers, Xers, and the… Read More
The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate
by Harriet Lerner
Psychotherapist and bestselling author Lerner has been teaching readers how to “dance” with difficult relationship issues throughout the past decade, and remains one of the most helpful writers on the topic. With her familiar mix of conversational language and profound empathy for people (primarily… Read More
Re-inventing HR – Changing Roles to Create the High Performance Organization
by Margaret Butteriss
Traditionally, Human Resource areas have been in charge of administrative functions such as payroll, benefits, and recruiting. Today, however, HR professionals must help create organizational strategy as part of the management team. This book tells how to transform a human resources function from a… Read More
The 10th Circuit found that jokes and nooses at work could be found to be race harassment. However, Delta Airlines could not be held liable because it immediately investigated and took corrective action. Since the harassment was not occurring “at the behest of Delta” and because Delta acted reasonably, Delta was not held liable.
A woman complained that her boss sexually harassed her. The male boss said she was a poor performer who had sexually propositioned him. During an investigation, the boss failed to produce proper documentation of performance problems. He was subsequently fired and claimed sex and age discrimination. The Court dismissed the complaint finding that the boss failed to take disciplinary action against the woman or otherwise make a sexual harassment complaint pursuant to the Company’s policy. The Court found that the investigation was comprehensive and not a pretext for sex or age discrimination.
A prison guard alleged discrimination after being fired for having sex with an inmate. He could not claim disparate treatment with respect to only one female guard not fired after kissing an inmate, when two other female guards lost their jobs over their inmate relationships. When using comparators, the 10th Circuit frowns on choosing some while ignoring others.
A jury awarded a female attorney $80,000 for a sexually hostile work environment at a law firm. The District Court judge quashed the award, finding that sexual banter was in a humorous vein and that the associate remained friends with the accused male associates. The Court held that sexual talk and vulgar terms was not hostile or abusive to a severe or extreme degree.
A sexual harassment class-action suit against TWA brought by the EEOC (www.eeoc.gov) and three plaintiff-intervenors represented by Lipman & Plesur, LLP (www.lipmanplesur.com) settled for $2.6 million, the largest settlement obtained by the New York District Office of the EEOC. “The ‘stick your head in the sand’ approach to dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace proved very costly in this case” said Lipman. “Even after settlement papers were signed, a supervisor told one of our clients still employed by TWA, that he doesn’t like women with long hair, especially when they are ‘on top.'” Lipman said.
Such crude comments have been rampant at TWA for years and the company has not taken action to stop it, according to the Complaints filed by Lipman & Plesur, LLP and the EEOC. Robert Lipman, who is also President of Interactive Employment Training, Inc.(www.hrtrain.com) and Editor of EEO News (www.eeonews.com), observes that “it is unbelievable that a company would choose to let sexual harassment fester in the workplace, inviting huge morale and other work-related problems as well as a class-action lawsuit, when such conduct can be easily prevented through appropriate discriminatory harassment prevention training.” “A relatively small investment in a discriminatory harassment prevention training course could have prevented this whole case” Lipman said.
Interactive Employment Training, Inc’s recently launched online discriminatory harassment prevention program developed in conjunction with AIG, is currently in use at many organizations, including AIG, Guiness UDV and the United States Department of Justice. Such a course sensitizes workers about respect and creates a culture that does not tolerate discriminatory harassment. “As illustrated by the TWA case, organizations that fail to take appropriate steps to stop sexual and discriminatory harassment in the workplace pay the price. More organizations will take the cost effective route to discriminatory harassment prevention that is now provided by engaging, interactive training over the Internet. Companies have a choice: ignore the problem, which will lead to poor morale and increased turnover as well as costly lawsuits, or take measures to prevent discriminatory harassment in the workplace. This choice is a no brainer and the Internet provides the best forum to sensitize employees to the issue of discriminatory harassment,” Lipman said.