SOME TIPS TO PREVENT EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS

Robinson’s concise guide to preventing employment discrimination lawsuits suggests developing business practices that accord with the Christian faith.

Robinson’s compact guide has two big goals: provide employers with practical steps to reduce their exposure to discrimination lawsuits and explain how those steps naturally follow Christian tenets. Robinson—who draws on his experiences as a practitioner-in-residence at the University of New Haven and his work as a labor lawyer—also examines the most common types of discrimination lawsuits, as well as how to increase the likelihood that the employer will win such cases in court. The book focuses on several major categories of discrimination: race, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability and religion; it also covers sexual harassment suits. Robinson briefly explains the laws that govern each type of discrimination case, and he provides practical advice employers can use to ensure they’re hiring, promoting, demoting and firing within the limits of the law. He describes how many of these actions—such as promoting workers according to their skills or providing reasonable accommodations for disabled employees—are actually mentioned in the Bible. As a “faith-based” guide for employers, the link between U.S. employment law and Christian teachings are key to the book’s premise: An employer that follows his or her Christian principles first will be well-served when it comes to meeting the requirements of secular employment discrimination law. Less helpful is the advice given to members of protected groups to avoid becoming victims of discrimination, which is not only not Bible-based, but also tends to boil down to counseling that they “be less” a member of the group in question. Although the sections addressing employees are well-intentioned, the guide provides much more thorough advice to employers, especially those who are Christian.

Clearly explains how Christian employers can stay within the bounds of the law while also meeting the requirements of their faith.