Scope of Relief in Sexual Harassment Cases, Quirky Question # 67

Scope of Relief in Sexual Harassment Cases, Quirky Question # 67

Quirky Question # 67: We have a sexual harassment problem at our company.  I’ll spare you the grim details but let’s just say it’s an ugly situation, involving several members of management.  No physical contact or assaultive behavior but some widespread hostile environment issues.  Among other behaviors, for example, our managers apparently thought it perfectly appropriate to entertain clients at...

Domestic Abuse and Wrongful Discharge, Quirky Question # 66

Domestic Abuse and Wrongful Discharge, Quirky Question # 66

Quirky Question # 66: One of our employees recently advised us that she and her two children were suffering from domestic violence by her husband.  She requested us to provide her time off to move herself and her children out of the abusive situation at her home.  Frankly, we were somewhat skeptical so we denied her request.  Not long thereafter,...

Retaliation for Participating in an Investigation, Quirky Question # 65

Retaliation for Participating in an Investigation, Quirky Question # 65

Quirky Question # 65: Our company has made concerted efforts to encourage our employees to report incidents of possible discrimination.  Our HR Department is responsible for receiving and investigating discrimination complaints.  Through our internal investigation efforts, we have been able to head off possible litigation and address potentially serious problems. On the flip side, however, the internal investigation process has...

“Penalizing” Employee for Using Leave, Quirky Question # 64

“Penalizing” Employee for Using Leave, Quirky Question # 64

Quirky Question # 64: We have a number of programs at our company that are designed to reward employee behaviors that are important to the success of our company.  For example, we provide a financial benefit to employees who have 100 percent attendance annually.  Another example is that we provide our employees a bonus based on a combination of factors,...

“Me Too” Evidence, Quirky Question # 63

“Me Too” Evidence, Quirky Question # 63

Quirky Question # 63: We are defending against a claim of age discrimination.  The plaintiff has lined up a number of current and former employees, each of whom apparently intend to testify that during their employment, they also were (or are) victims of age discrimination.  Is this legit?  These other individuals never filed claims of age discrimination against us.

Scope of Retaliation Claims, Family Members?, Quirky Question # 62

Scope of Retaliation Claims, Family Members?, Quirky Question # 62

Quirky Question # 62: Your pending question regarding the “temporal proximity” required for retaliation claims is interesting.  I have a slightly different question, also involving retaliation claims. What is the scope of the protections provided by retaliation provisions.  For example, if one member of a couple, both of whom worked for us, sues us for discrimination in connection with her...

Timing of Retaliation Claims, Quirky Question # 61

Timing of Retaliation Claims, Quirky Question # 61

Quirky Question # 61: I am the General Counsel of a small company.  As our company’s only attorney, I have to provide expertise in a wide variety of substantive areas.  In connection with retaliation claims, I occasionally hear about “temporal proximity.”  When I’m advising my clients, I’d like to be able to provide them some clear guidance regarding the length...

Abusing PTO Policies, Quirky Question # 60

Abusing PTO Policies, Quirky Question # 60

Quirky Question # 60: We are having trouble managing exempt employees’ paid time off (PTO).  Our current policy allows new employees to begin earning PTO right away, with the potential to earn up to 120 hours of PTO per calendar year.  PTO that is earned but not used is paid out or carried over at the end of each calendar...

Mandatory Arbitration, Quirky Question # 59

Mandatory Arbitration, Quirky Question # 59

Quirky Question # 59: We are a large company with substantial number of employees.  We have decided to compel our employees to arbitrate all of their employment claims, through the adoption of a mandatory arbitration policy.  Since we are writing the agreement that binds the employees, we have decided to include a provision barring any class action claims.  Any problems...