Are homosexuals and people over 70 safe from discrimination?

Age and sexual orientation laws and rules for repo

Q: Are people over the age of 70 protected by the ADEA?

A: Yes. When first enacted, the answer was no, but Congress has since amended ADEA to cover you after age 70. In addition, Ohio law protects anyone over 40 from age discrimination.

Q: And do Federal EEO Laws protect homosexuals from discrimination in employment?

A? No. Sexual orientation is not a protected classification under any federal anti-discrimination law.

Q: Does an employee have to report sexual advances to the company in order to claim sexual harassment?

A: Yes, if the harassment is by a co-worker and the employee wants the employer to be responsible for it. Basically, the idea is that if you want to hold your employer responsible, you must inform the employer. If the harassment is by a supervisor or higher member of management, however, the answer is no, the employee does not have to report it before the company is responsible for it, since the supervisor or member of management is, in the eyes of the law, the manager.

A: If a applicant interviewing for a position with our company has a gap in his/her employment history, can you ask the applicant if they have been arrested?

Q: The short answer is "not a good idea". You can generally ask about convictions, but not arrest records. Ask instead why the gap occurred. If they say they were in jail due to a conviction, you do not need to hire. Independently (and you should in most every case) conduct a background check (about $50.00 to $75.00). If the gap was due to jail time, this will turn it up. You can then also refuse to hire for lying about the resume gap.

Q: Or will this (refusing to hire based on a criminal conviction) be discrimination?

A: No, unless you hire people outside of the protected class with conviction records but not people inside the protected class.

Q: What are the management/HR similarities between unionized and non-unionized companies?

A: Union HR managers have all of the same duties as non-union, plus union contract negotiation and administration.

Regards,

Neil Klingshirn
Fortney & Klingshirn

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Feb 20, 2001 5:12 PM [EST]