By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Sexual harassment is a constant issue. But sometimes there is relative silence on the subject, and sometimes there are waves of attention. Right now, one of those waves seems to be cresting. With the repeated harassment claims and settlements at Fox News, and the number of women accusing Hollywood producer […]
Address the Silence of a Delayed Harassment Claim Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Black Americans, especially but not exclusively those on the lower-economic rung, often have a different experience with police and the justice system. That difference makes them more likely to believe they’ve been discriminated against, or to believe more generally, that they get greater attention and less protection from the law.
Expect Support for Civil Litigation to Vary by Race and Social Status Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Why did President Trump fire FBI Director James Comey? As of press time for this blog post, the answer is that it depends on who you ask and what day, and sometimes what time of day, you ask them. A detailed timeline from the New York Times focuses on the shifting rationale, but
Avoid the Telltale Signs of Pretext Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one of the earliest and most heartbreaking tactics that children learn: Because social connections are powerful, taking those connections away is a weapon. So kids are left out, not included, not talked to, ignored. Ostracism from one’s peers may be a passive form of aggression, but it is
Take a Broader View of Workplace Harassment Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The credit for the clever title goes to Olivia Nuzzi, political reporter for The Daily Beast, who tweeted that quotation out following the email hack releasing nearly 20,000 of the Democratic National Committee’s emails just ahead of their national convention. The result of several intrusions, which seem to bear a circumstantial connection to
Dance Like No One is Watching; Email Like It May One Day Be Read Aloud in a Deposition Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released its 2015 Enforcement and Litigation Data, and one of the items that stands out is that the greatest number of charges filed are in the category of retaliation. Continuing a trend from prior years, the data show that almost half — 44.5 percent — of the
Understand the Whistle-blower Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one thing to know an act has a chance of resulting in harm, and it’s another to intend that harm to occur. Or is it? Consider the example of a company that is aware of a small risk of electric shock if repairs are done without powering off
Treat Knowledge as Intent Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm Imagine a typical employment discrimination case, subject to all of the ambiguities of human motivation. To the plaintiff, it is a story of good if not exceptional work performance cut short by a decision to terminate based on race, gender, age or disability. To the defendant, it is a story
Realistically Compare Your Employment Fact Finders Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Here is a piece of advice that works not only as a trial message, but also as a strategy for avoiding trials in the first place: When someone loses their job, make sure it is for reasons that meet the legal tests, even when those tests aren’t legally required. For
Treat Your Terminations as “For Cause” (Even When They’re “At Will”) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A Google search on the phrase “no comment” appearing in recent news yields thousands of hits — various individuals and organizations responding in time-honored fashion to some sort of crisis. Recently, for example, after CNN Analyst Roland Martin had his finger too close to the Tweet button during the Super
Don’t Say Nothing: The Limitations of “No Comment” as a Litigation Crisis Strategy Read More »