HerringLaw: Civil Rights & Discrimination Law in Iowa

Cybersecurity Plan Doesn't Breach Employee Privacy

This one surprised me, frankly.  Because federal workers are notified when they log into their government computers that Homeland Security is monitoring them for malicious intrusions, that satisfies the one-party consent requirement, and permits government monitoring of emails opened by a federal employee logged into a work computer network.

""A person communicating with another assumes the risk that the person has agreed to permit the Government to monitor the contents of that communication," he wrote, alluding to the "one-party consent" rule set out in the Wiretap Act of 1968."

via www.washingtonpost.com

Rampant Sex Harassment Costs Lowe's $1.7 Million to Settle

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a major settlement of a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against Lowe's  for $1.72 million and significant remedial relief on behalf of three employees in their twenties who were subjected to a pervasive sexually hostile work environment, including physical and verbal harassment and sexual assault, and retaliated against for complaining about it.

via www.eeoc.gov

It's amazing in this day and age that this stuff still goes on.  

Another Reason to be Careful about your Internet Postings

Here's another reason [or maybe the main one]:  45% of employers search job applicant social networking sites for information about the person.  Mashable

 45% of them use social networking sites to research job candidates, with an additional 11% planning to implement social media screening in the very near future.

Allowing for taxes owed in employment discrimination cases

As explained by Shannon P. Duffy at Law.com, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Eshelman v. Agere Systems Inc.  ruled that plaintiffs who win in employment discrimination cases can seek an additional award to compensate for the tax consequences of receiving a lump sum backpay award.  This is because of the "make whole" remedial purpose of the anti-discrimination statutes.  Not all courts might rule the same, though, since there is what lawyer's call a "split in the circuits" which might, some day, necessitate the Supreme Court's answering the question.

New COBRA duties for Employers under

As posted by Gail Lamarche from HenLaw:

President Obama recently signed the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 (the “Act”), which, among other
things, includes provisions that affect and
amend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”). As
a result, employers will immediately face
significant new notification and premium
payment responsibilities. Employers and
plan administrators must act quickly to
implement these requirements, which
will require them to locate certain former
employees, and coordinate payroll and
COBRA administration.

See the full article for a complete discussion.  Obviously, this change affects both former [or soon to be] employees and employers.

An Employee Guide: The Three Contact Rule

I was reading an old copy of BottomLinePersonal and ran across this discussion by Richard Busse of this concept, from Fired, Laid-Off or Forced Out:  After you've been warned or suspended, use the rule to develop a more positive relationship with your boss:  each week, for at least three weeks, find a reason to seek out your supervisor's advice and respond positively.  Recreate a positive view of you as an employee and wipe away the memory of the discipline.

Of course, if you think the discipline or behavior of your supervisor is improper or questionable, go to HR and enlist its help.  

Non-employee Sexual Harassment

In Won't You Be My Neighbor?, blogger/lawyer Wendy Poole provides an excellent discussion of pitfalls for those who think that only employees can get an employer into trouble for their harassing actions.  The EEOC case on the topic is quite old, but still well-founded.  

Of course, the best advice is:  if what you wouldn't do wouldn't pass muster with your mother [or grandmother], then it's probably not something to do.

Feisty Working Women get their Due!

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will be signed by President Obama today and Gail Collins in the New York Times explains the 'backstory', some of the other changes wrought by women seeking equality under the law.

NYTimes story on the President's signing of the bill is here.

EEOC Guidelines for Disabled Employees

The EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] has published Guidelines to assist agencies in hiring and promoting disabled employees. Obviously, these Guidelines can be helpful as well to other employers, public and private.

ADA Amendments

The Senate on 9/11 passed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 and after the House goes along [it is expected to] and the President signs it, it'll become law. The law was created to reject the various holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court [and lower courts] which eviscerated the meaning and usefulness of the ADA. The sponsor of the Senate bill was Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. More details regarding the legislation are found here.