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Oracle Tips by Burleson |
Discrimination
Employers cannot discriminate in the process
of firing IT employees. There are State and Federal laws that
prohibit discrimination against employees based on sex, age, race,
color, national origin, religion, handicap, and so on.
It should be noted that some States have
also enacted employment discrimination protections for domestic
partners under specific requirements that define such arrangements.
Supermarket Discrimination Case
In a discrimination lawsuit, a supermarket
chain agreed to pay $81.5 million to 150,000 past and current female
employees who claimed the chain relegated them to dead-end,
low-paying jobs. The suit alleged that men with less experience and
seniority were promoted, while similarly qualified women were not.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) subsequently
investigated the claims, and the suit was expanded to a class action
including all women employed by the chain currently and in the past.
The settlement included 535 locations retroactive for a period of
years and allowed the EEOC to monitor hiring practices and
promotions for up to seven years.
FAST FACT
25 percent of employees surveyed indicated
they had experienced job bias in the past.
- Samborn, R (1990) “Many Americans Find
Bias at Work.” National Law Journal, July 16, 1990, p1.
Violation of Public Policy
The termination of an employee may not be in
compliance with common law if the reason for the firing violates
public policy. Public policy refers to rights created for the public
benefit that are not subject to waiver. These rights do not
explicitly prohibit discipline or termination, but may, nonetheless,
be used in wrongful termination claims.
Examples of public policy rights include
serving on a jury, filing for workers compensation, military leave,
and refusing requests from an employer to perform unlawful acts.
The above book excerpt is from:
You're Fired!
Firing Computer Professionals
The IT
manager Guide for Terminating "With Cause"
ISBN 0-9744486-4-8
Robert Papaj
http://www.rampant-books.com/book_2005_1_firing.htm |
