The Minnesota Supreme Court recently issued what could turn out to be a significant opinion on the legal standard governing sexual harassment cases under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA). At issue in Kenneh v. Homeward Bound, Inc. (Minn. 6/3/2020) was whether the requirement that workplace harassment be “severe or pervasive,” adopted from
Sex Discrimination
Relying on Prior Pay in Setting New Employees’ Salary is Increasingly Risky
Many employers use job applications that ask applicants to disclose their salary or wages at prior jobs. Sometimes the question comes up in an interview. Employers have many potential motives for asking the question: perhaps to determine what compensation the applicant will expect if hired; to determine whether the applicant would fit within the position’s…
Employers in Long Term Care Industry Face Enhanced Risk of Employee Harassment Claims Based upon Conduct of Patients
Claims of sexual harassment typically involve the behavior of fellow employees. But, an employer’s potential liability for sexual harassment also extends to conduct by a non-employee, such as a customer, client, or patient, that creates a hostile work environment.
The principle of employer liability for harassment by a non-employee third-party presents particular challenges to the…
Court Affirms Six-Figure Verdict to Nursing Mother Who Quit Because of Employer’s Failure to Provide Suitable Breastfeeding Accommodation
Employers that accommodate employees’ temporary disabilities should consider extending the practice to nursing mothers returning to work following maternity leave. That’s the lesson of a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Hicks v. City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 11th Cir., 9/7/2017) In Hicks, a City police department’s insistence that an officer return to the beat rather than to allowing her work a temporary desk job resulted in a substantial plaintiff verdict.
Continue Reading Court Affirms Six-Figure Verdict to Nursing Mother Who Quit Because of Employer’s Failure to Provide Suitable Breastfeeding Accommodation
Eleventh Circuit the Latest to Rule Title VII Does Not Cover Discrimination Based Upon Sexual Orientation
Whether Title VII protects employees from discrimination based upon sexual orientation is one of the most contentious employment law issues being litigated in the federal courts today. EEOC contends Title VII covers sexual orientation, and a handful of district courts have agreed. But, as of today, every U.S. Court of Appeal to consider the question…
What Does the Fox News Settlement with Gretchen Carlson Mean for Ordinary Employers?
The headline was Fox News agreed to pay $20 million to its former anchor Gretchen Carlson to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against its former CEO Roger Ailes. This is an extraordinary settlement, and not just because of the amount. Fox News agreed to a public settlement (usually they are confidential); publicly apologized to…
Iowa Employers Should Re-Examine Policies on Pregnancy Accommodation
How to best accommodate pregnant employees is a frequent challenge Iowa employers face. Pregnant employees may be entitled to protection under the laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, as well as those requiring equal treatment based upon gender and disability. Many employers have tried to walk this fine line with policies that allow…
Video Interview: Discussing Iowa’s Pink Locker Room with LXBN TV
Following up on my recent post on the story, I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN TV regarding the kerfuffle over the pink locker room at Kinnick Stadium. In the interview, Colin and I discuss some of the serious and not-so-serious issues this story presents.
Should We Take Seriously the Claim that Pink Paint in a Locker Room Is Sex Discrimination?
Last week, the co-founder of a Minnesota based organization called “Gender Justice” accused the Iowa football team of “pink shaming” its opponents and engaging in what she calls “cognitive bias.” Jill Gaulder, who also happens to be a former UI professor, claims the infamous pink visitor’s locker room at Kinnick Stadium is “sexist”, “homophobic”, …
Critics are Unfairly Attacking the Iowa Supreme Court’s Sex Discrimination Ruling in Nelson v. Knight
Never has a Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling in an employment dispute generated such strong reaction, not only locally, but internationally. The case, of course, is Nelson v. Knight, the December 21, 2012 ruling involving the Fort Dodge dentist who was irresistibly attracted to one of his dental assistants. Dr. Knight’s wife, who also worked in …