Discrimination Archives | Page 7 of 9

June 10, 2014

Old Man Fired from Job Because of Age Discrimination

It is rare for a few days to pass without getting a call from someone who was terminated because of, they believe, their age. It happens all the time. An employer hires someone in their 20s or 30s when they’re young and inexperienced. In their 40s, the employee has climbed the professional ladder, trained in new employees, maybe even become a supervisor or manager, and then in their 50s the employee starts being treated differently. The subtle shift begins by the employer excluding the older employee from important meetings with newer clients, or not giving them new big deals that come in. The discrimination becomes more obvious when, all of a sudden and for the first time, the employer puts the older employee on a Performance Improvement Plan or starts critiquing them for fabricated performance issues. Ultimately, after a sophisticated employer has spent some time creating a paper trail to justify terminating this older employee, they do. And they say they are terminating the employee because of performance issues.

April 23, 2014

Man Discriminated Against for Race Association

Did you know that Minnesota law protects employees from discrimination because of the race of their family and friends? For example, if your boss tells you that you can’t have photos of your bi-racial child in your cube or office, but allows white employees to leave up photos of their white children, you may be experiencing discrimination based on race. Or if your significant other is a person of a different race and people at work make negative remarks about that, you may be experiencing discrimination based on race. If you find yourself in a situation where your boss makes offensive remarks or treats you differently because of the race of your family members or friends, this may well be discrimination because of race association.

April 9, 2014

You start a new job and everything is going great. Your coworkers are welcoming and your boss is particularly friendly. It may seem innocent at first. A compliment about your appearance, a comment about what you’re wearing, a pet name. But the frequency starts to make you uncomfortable. Your boss starts asking about your love life and sexual preferences. Soon the anxiety from dealing with constant unwanted attention makes you dread going to work and you wonder if there is anything you can do.

In Minnesota, you have a right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment, which includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature. It doesn’t matter whether the perpetrator is male or female, or is your boss, coworker, subordinate, or president of the company; this type of behavior is illegal under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if it substantially interferes with your work environment.

April 2, 2014

It’s Friday morning. As usual, you show up to the office, grab a coffee from the break room, and fire up the computer to begin your day. It’s been a long week but who cares – the weekend is in clear view and the cabin is calling. Then, your boss pays you an unexpected visit and says one of the most dreaded phrases in the desk-jockeying game, “come see me in my office.” To your surprise, a representative from Human Resources is already there. Then it hits you like a ton of bricks – you’re being terminated. Your head starts spinning and anxiety builds. After the meeting you can barely recall what was said and really don’t care. The one thing you do recall is the HR representative handing you a folder with a number of documents in it. After going home and settling down, you actually open up the folder and find something titled “Separation Agreement and Release,” offering you eight weeks of pay. Sounds like there is a silver lining in all of this, right? The answer could vary wildly depending on your circumstances.

March 13, 2014

Life can change in a flash. Things are moving along and suddenly your child is in a serious accident, or you are diagnosed with an illness that requires extensive treatment. What do you do about your job? If you have worked for your employer longer than a year, you may have the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave when something like this happens. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Minnesota Parental Leave Act (MPLA) both require employers to provide leaves of absence to their employees if certain conditions are met. Better yet, the laws guarantee that when employees return to work they are guaranteed their previous job or an equivalent position that is comparable with respect to job duties, pay, and benefits. The provisions of the FMLA and MPLA are different, so it is important to know some key distinctions.

February 19, 2014

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) prohibit employers from discriminating against employees (or potential employees)with disabilities. In fact, these laws require employers to accommodate disabled employees if that will make it possible for the employee to continue working and does not create hardship for the employer. Under the ADA and MHRA, you have a right to reasonable accommodations if you are disabled. These may include: modified work schedules; acquisition of or modifications to equipment or devices; reassignment of nonessential functions of the job.

May 2, 2013

Societal attitudes seem to be changing regarding sexual orientation discrimination. For example, the recent defeat of the proposed state marriage amendment confirmed that a majority of Minnesota voters do not believe that a prohibition against same-sex marriage should be codified as a state constitutional amendment.

However, many civil rights advocates might agree that more action is required. Certainly, voting down discriminatory laws is a first step. However, additional affirmative actions might be needed to counter the systemic or institutional challenges that many sexual minorities still encounter.

March 27, 2013

The sale of Girl Scout cookies has become a national institution. Just like the return of Minnesota Twins baseball, blooming flowers, and March Madness, offerings of Tagalongs, Thin Mints and Dosidos are very common during spring. Those who are reading this post have probably purchased a box from young scouts strategically positioned outside a grocery store, or from an office mate who wants to support their child.

So selling Girl Scout cookies at work should be okay, right? Apparently not.

March 9, 2013

A professor at Macalester College is suing her employer, alleging gender discrimination, as well as race and national origin discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

The woman is currently a full professor with tenure at the college, teaching creative writing in its English department. However, the professor claims that she was wrongfully denied several promotions over the years. The first alleged act of discrimination came in 2003, when she was passed over for an associate professor position. Although the professor was subsequently promoted to an associate professor position with full tenure in 2005, she claims she again experienced workplace discrimination when she applied for a full professor position in 2009.

March 1, 2013

Minnesota workers are entitled to employment protections under both federal and state laws. In many aspects of employment law, Minnesota is a progressive state, with state laws offering additional prohibitions against certain types of workplace discrimination. The distinction between federal and state laws can be of minimal importance to employees who simply benefit from whichever coverage applies and provides the most workplace protections.