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
U.S. District Judge Linda Reade has become the scourge of the EEOC. On August 1 Judge Reade entered an order sanctioning EEOC nearly $4.7 million for attorney’s fees and expenses CRST Van Expedited incurred to defend itself against a largely frivolous complaint alleging that as many as 270 female employees were subject to a pattern and
Two recent cases out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (which includes Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, and North and South Dakota) serve as important reminders that employers should be alert to potential claims of religious discrimination and religion based harassment occurring in their work places:
There is an interesting debate occurring in the legal blogosphere concerning LinkedIn, a popular business social networking site. It started with an article a couple of weeks ago in the National Law Journal, where management side lawyers were quoted giving warnings about the dangers of using LinkedIn to provide recommendations to current or
Employers should take note of a recent EEOC publication entitled "Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities", available on the EEOC website, or by clicking here. 
Although an employee’s status as a caregiver is not protected under any federal or Iowa law, the EEOC nonetheless takes the position that discrimination against such employees can