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Sex Discrimination10

The Myth of the “Superstar” Harasser: What Employers Fail to Understand

By Business Law, Corporate Culture, EEOC, Employment Policies, Hiring and Firing, Hostile Work Environment, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Tips & News
Welcome to Texas Business Matters! Today we talk about another commonly-held myth that prevents employers from acting on a credible claim of sexual harassment—specifically, that of the “Superstar” harasser. The “Superstar” harasser is an employee believed to be too valuable to terminate. Think Matt Lauer, the former host of NBC’s “Today,” who…
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Counting Employees under Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA: Do Part-Time Employees Count?

By Age Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, Discrimination, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Tips & News
Earlier this month, I spoke to the Travis County Women Lawyers Association on employment law. One of the audience members asked a good question, which is: for an employer to be subject to Title VII, it has to have at least 15 employees. Do part-time employees count? Answer: liability under…
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A Tale of Two Coaches’ Consensual Acts with Students: Did UT Discriminate?

By Discrimination, Employment Policies, Race Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Tips & News
In late 2012, UT women’s track coach Bev Kearney was forced to resign after admitting to a consensual, year-long relationship with one of her athletes in the early 2000s. Not a month later, the Daily Texan reported that Major Applewhite, a UT assistant football coach, engaged in a one-time sexual…
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Does Your Texas Business Need EPLI?

By Business Law, Civil Litigation, Discrimination, Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), Hiring and Firing, Independent Contractor, Litigation, Sex Discrimination, Tips & News, Wage and Hour
Picture this: you have a small business with more than fifteen employees. Tough economic times require you to lay someone off. You lay someone off who happens to be female. She sues for sex discrimination. You now have to hire an attorney to defend the claim. The attorney wants a…
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“Real Evil Look” Insufficient to Establish Hostile Work Environment

By Age Discrimination, Civil Litigation, Discrimination, Evidence, Federal Court, Fifth Circuit, Hiring and Firing, Hostile Work Environment, Litigation, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Recent Cases, Religious Discrimination, Sex Discrimination
Last week, the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment granted in favor of the employer in a discrimination case. In this case, the employee complained that the employer’s decision to give her the second highest possible, but not the highest possible, rating on a performance review was age, race, sex, sexual…
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Absent BFOQ, Transgendered Employees Protected under Title VII

By Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Policies, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Sexual Stereotyping, Transgender Discrimination
What does discrimination on the basis of "sex" mean under Title VII? When the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, it prohibited discrimination based on a lot of really big, important categories---such as race, national origin, religion, and sex. Back then, everybody knew what sex discrimination meant—it meant discrimination…
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EEOC Says Transgender Discrimination Violates Title VII

By Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Policies, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Recent Cases, Religious Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Sexual Stereotyping, Tips & News, Transgender Discrimination, U.S. Supreme Court
In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act outlawed major forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, and sex. At the time, sex discrimination meant discrimination against women. Today, however, courts are grappling with the boundaries of sex discrimination…
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