The Michigan Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) established a dedicated workgroup to focus on mental health, trauma, and resiliency in the workplace. The workgroup recently released its findings. The report also offers strategies for employers to help build supportive workplaces by integrating employee mental health strategies that establish healthier workplaces, enhance employee wellbeing
workplace discrimination
Corporate Funeral Home Argues Religious Belief Exempts Title VII Anti-Discrimination Law
On May 17, 2017, attorneys for a corporation operating a Detroit funeral home that fired a transgender employee filed its appeal brief. The brief argues that the corporation could fire a transgender employee who refused to follow its sex-specific dress code because allowing her to wear women’s clothes at work would violate the religious …
Employment Discrimination in the Application Process – You Never Know Who is Watching
Here’s a good reason for why employers need to have and stick to a standard job application procedure: A woman in Ypsilanti,
Michigan posted on Facebook a textbook example of employment discrimination.
You can read the post in its entirety. But the short story is that she was at Big Boy when a black man…
The Price Tag for Settling Sex Discrimination Claims
A long-running sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) came to an end on November 25, 2015, when a Michigan federal district court approved a consent decree. Under that decree, Cintas Corporation agreed to pay $1.5 million in addition to a numerous other requirements for years to come. A copy of…
Employee Fired for Facebook Postings Latest Example for Why Companies Need a Social Media Policy and Plan
Employee social media issues recently made headlines in the most deplorable way when an employee was fired on September 29, 2015, after he posted a picture of himself online with a colleague’s 3-year-old black son. The picture taken by Gerod Roth, the former employee, resulted (for reasons unknown) numerous bigoted and racists comments from the…
Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Michigan Law – Is it a Time for a Change?
Sexual orientation discrimination can be described as being treated differently or harassed because of a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, which includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual orientation.
Unlike federal laws that protect people from workplace discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability, there is no federal law that…
Lessons From the Paula Dean Debacle: Balancing Truth Without Saying Too Much
It is no understatement that celebrity chef Paula Dean has seen her world fall apart after it was reported that she had used the “N-word.”
Her use of this racial slur came out when she testified (PDF) in an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee against Ms. Dean, her brother Bubba Hiers, and…
Proposed Michigan Social Media Law Banning Employer Access to Employee Passwords – Not Something to “Like”
Proposed Michigan Social Media legislation is back in the headlines. Specifically, Chris Gautz of Crain’s Detroit Business reported that Michigan Senate House Bill 5523, (sponsored by Rep. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton), was approved unanimously by the House in September and is now sitting on the Senate floor.
This bill would “outlaw” employers from requiring employees…