The university kept paying its softball coach during an investigation. Its no-contact order also stopped her from teaching, and the suspension became a $300,000 sex bias judgment. TL;DR: A jury found sex motivated a university’s paid suspension of its women’s softball coach, and an appeals court upheld the $300,000 judgment.
Category: Human Resources
Why Employee Behavior Makes Sense In Broken Systems with Dustin Snyder
Getting Value from Pharmacy Benefits in a High-Cost Era
The Layoff Was Planned Before His FMLA Request. The Timing Became the Problem.
The company had decided to eliminate his job before he told his manager about his planned parental leave. So why did he get his termination notice in April when the other people on the layoff list remained until July? TL;DR: An employer had already selected an employee for a restructuring
When DEI training becomes part of a hostile workplace claim
A federal judge dismissed this white employee’s hostile workplace claim last year. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit considered the alleged training remarks alongside years of workplace incidents and gave the claim new life. TL;DR: A jury could find a racially hostile work environment based on alleged statements during DEI training
Ep176: Don’t ask for feedback if you’re not ready for the answer
Why Being Helpful Keeps You Stuck with Alli Murphy
The Pride Flags Came Down. Why the Title VII Claims Did Too.
Pride flags came down. Pride stickers were covered and prohibited. An LGBTQ+ student club received extra field-trip scrutiny. That is how three teachers described the pattern in their complaint. TL;DR: Three LGBTQ+ teachers claimed discrimination after a school district restricted Pride flags and stickers and required extra field-trip information. The
Curiosity is the Skill That Saves Your Career with Fenton Jagdeo Jr.
“Not Crazy About White People” Allegedly Appeared in an HR Report. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The employer hired an outside investigator to examine workplace concerns. A former HR employee later relied on what the investigator allegedly documented to support her own bias claims. TL;DR: A White HR employee alleged that leadership tolerated racial preferences, excluded her from a DEI webinar, and fired her after she
Episode 453: What’s Next in Global Employee Benefit Trends
HR Is Not a Theology Department. Here’s How to Review Religious Accommodation Requests.
HR can ask an employee to explain a religious conflict. The trouble begins when the review turns into a theological examination. TL;DR: A federal appeals court revived an employee’s religious-accommodation claim after her employer treated her vaccine objections as secular. Personal, medical, and ethical concerns did not erase the religious
Recruiter Wake Up Call Podcast Preview with Kat Kingshott
Difficult Conversations at Work: 10 Manager Scripts That Actually Work
Three Employees Refused the Same Drug Test. Only the White Employee Got His Job Back.
Management enforced its drug-testing rule. The exceptions it made afterward created the bigger problem. TL;DR: A federal appeals court revived race-discrimination and retaliation claims because a White employee received a second chance that two Black employees did not, while other evidence included unequal pay, White replacements, and conflicting explanations for
The Employer Appealed a $1 Million Punitive Award. The Third Circuit Made It $2 Million.
The company had an anti-harassment policy, trained its employee-relations manager to investigate complaints, and opened one. Then it assigned the accused supervisor to counsel the employee who complained about him. TL;DR: The only Black employee in an office reported racist conduct by her supervisor. The investigation skipped a key witness,





