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Cuomo case offers key lessons for employers

The New York attorney general's report on sexual harassment allegations that led to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's resignation offers plenty of good insights for employers on anti-harassment training and communication. Among the lessons: Don't let your higherlevel staff "opt out" of training. And, the report says, "as a matter of law, claiming that gender-based behavior is simply a function of being old-fashioned or culturally more affectionate is not a defense to sexual harassment." Read an Ogletree Deakins analysis of the lessons for employers at www.tinyurl.com/Cuomolessons.

Post-firing 'rampage' may send HR director to jail

After being fired, the HR director at a Florida staffing firm accessed the company's network from home and "rampaged through" the files, deleting 17,000 applications. The company spent $100,000 to respond and rebuild the database. After a jury trial, the woman was convicted of damaging company computers, which could bring a 10-year prison term. The lesson: Make sure your terminated workers know that such e-vandalism on their way out the door could lead to something worse than a poor reference--including time in jail.

Raises are returning to pre-pandemic levels

U.S. employers expect to pay out average salary increases of 3% for execs and professionals in 2022, an increase from 2.7% this year, says a new Willis Towers Watson survey. And while 8% of companies didn't give raises this year, that percentage is expected to drop to 3% in 2022. Employers are also continuing to recognize high performers with significantly larger raises.

EEO-1 deadline extended again--likely for last time

The EEOC may sound like the boy who cried "deadline extension!" but they promise this is the last time they'll give you extra time to submit your 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 reports. The agency said October 25 is the new deadline. If you have 100 or more workers (or are a fed contractor with 50 or more), you have to submit the form that...