In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the need to respect an individual's gender identity and expression. This includes the use of preferred pronouns, which are personal pronouns that an individual prefers to use to address themselves, such as...
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What to include in a sexual harassment policy
As a business owner, your employees are very important to you. While you have been at the center of establishing your firm and ensuring its growth, you couldn’t have done it without them. You do not condone any form of harassment in your company, especially sexual...
When does a joke become sexual harassment?
“Lighten up. It was just a joke.” Perhaps you have heard that or something similar before. You may even have heard it a lot. Some bosses and colleagues seem to think they can make sexist comments and dismiss it as nothing more than a harmless joke if the person they...
Why do some older adults face age discrimination?
Aging brings certain unavoidable changes, such as wrinkles and reading glasses. Yet there is no reason it should also bring age discrimination. Federal law's Age Discrimination Act of 1975 makes age discrimination against anyone over 40 illegal, but unfortunately, it...
Gender identity and workplace discrimination
There’s increasing scientific and medical understanding that gender identity is much more complicated than a binary system and gender expression is a largely social construct. Unfortunately, not everybody has gotten the memo. Transphobia and gender identity or...
Can a reasonable accommodation request be denied?
If you have a disability or illness that prevents you from doing your work, you can request your employer for specific changes at the workplace. In other words, your employer should provide reasonable accommodation for your condition to enable you to discharge your...
4 kinds of workplace discrimination
As an employee, you have a right to a safe work environment that prohibits workplace discrimination and harassment. However, it isn’t always easy to spot when someone is a victim of discriminatory actions. To ensure you or a coworker isn’t a target of a harasser, you...
Why sexual harassment outside the workplace is prohibited
Did you know that if a co-worker or manager sexually harasses you outside the workplace, it’s still considered sexual harassment and prohibited behavior? Too many people – even managers – don’t realize this. While an employer can’t be expected to regulate their...
EEOC scrutinizes AI discrimination in hiring
Not so very long ago, when someone needed a new job, they asked around their local community and scoured the newspapers for ads targeting jobseekers. Nowadays, most “job hunting” occurs online. When aspiring workers first started using the Internet to find new...
3 ways your employer can protect you from harassment at work
No one should have to endure sexual harassment on the job just to bring home a paycheck. Both federal statutes and Ohio state law make it clear that employers have an obligation to protect their workers from sexual harassment. Hostile work environments and quid pro...