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Discrimination / Harassment

Know difference between employee, contractor

03/11/2010

Here’s some good news if you use truly independent contractors to perform work. If you have done it right, you don’t have to worry about losing an age discrimination lawsuit. But there’s a caveat: You must make sure you can easily prove your contractor wasn’t really an employee.

OK to fire for absenteeism before FMLA eligibility

03/11/2010

Employers are often confused about how much absenteeism they must allow for employees who haven’t worked long enough to be covered by the FMLA, and who aren’t otherwise entitled to miss work as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. The bottom line is that if you treat everyone equally, you can set high attendance expectations—and fire those who don’t meet them.

Put your attendance and tardiness policies in writing

03/11/2010

You naturally expect people to show up for work on time. But you could get into trouble if you don’t have a written policy saying so. Having written rules makes it more likely employees will understand your expectations.

Be careful! Caregiver discrimination claims are on the rise

03/11/2010

In recent years, employees have begun filing more and more “caregiver” or “family responsibility” discrimination lawsuits. No federal or Minnesota law specifically addresses discrimination against caregivers. However, treating employees with caregiving responsibilities differently than other employees may violate various employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA, the FMLA and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

We hear a worker is sick: What can we say?

03/10/2010

Q. We recently heard from a co-worker that an employee (“Mike”) seemed to be having some health issues. Mike hasn’t said anything to his supervisor or anyone else as far as we know. What can we say?

What can we ask about how applicant would get to work?

03/10/2010

Q. In our experience, employees who take public transportation or rely on rides from others are more likely to be tardy to work than those who own their own vehicle. Therefore, before hiring an applicant for employment, we would like to make sure the applicant has a reliable method of transportation to work. Would it be appropriate to inquire, for example, whether the applicant owns a vehicle?

Don’t tolerate employee’s religious threats

03/09/2010

Employees are entitled to broad protection from discrimination based on their religious beliefs and practices. However, that protection has limits. Consider, for example, what may happen if an employee tries to bludgeon—figuratively—her fellow employees with her religious beliefs.

At Akron’s Summa Health, where there’s smoke, there’s no hire

03/09/2010

Akron-based Summa Health Systems has announced it will no longer hire smokers. Applicants who wish to work at one of Summa’s six hospitals must provide a urine specimen to prove they are nicotine-free. Current employees are not affected by the new policy.

Small-group layoff? No need to keep employee just because she’s the oldest

03/09/2010

If you are planning a layoff within a small group of employees, the fact that one of the employees about to lose her job is the oldest of the group won’t be the basis for a successful age discrimination claim. It takes more evidence that age was a motivating factor for the employee to win an age discrimination case. That’s because she can’t use statistics to prove the disparate impact on older workers in such a small group.

Lawsuit looming? Tell all: Keep opinions to yourself

03/09/2010

When employees complain about alleged discrimination, it’s easy for managers and even other co-workers to get angry. Warn everyone to keep their opinions to themselves. Reacting angrily and then punishing those who complain for having a poor attitude is most certainly not a good idea.