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Employment Law

Carefully review all post-complaint actions

10/20/2009

Employees who complain about discrimination can win retaliation cases even if it turns out their underlying complaint didn’t amount to discrimination. That’s why it’s so important to review all post-complaint discipline—to make sure it’s fair, justified and not potential retaliation.

Consider specific circumstances when weighing whether to pay for before- or after-work time

10/20/2009

These days, class-action claims for unpaid work time are becoming common—and can get very expensive. That’s one reason to make absolutely sure you properly pay employees for the work they do. Take a careful look at your hourly employees’ workdays—when they start and when they’re done for the day.

Court narrows liability for employee assaults

10/20/2009

The Court of Appeal of California has limited the situations in which an employer will be liable for assaults committed by its employees.

Whistle-blowers protected for flagging shareholder fraud

10/20/2009

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes it illegal to retaliate against an employee who blows the whistle on potential shareholder fraud.

Workers’ comp law bars emotional distress claim

10/20/2009

Employees who claim that supervisors harassed them to the point that they became emotionally distraught cannot sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress if the alleged harassment is job related. Instead, they must file a workers’ compensation claim.

DHS is cracking down — follow these I-9 best practices

10/19/2009

Times are changing in the world of workplace immigration law. Employers now have to complete a new version of the I-9 Form. The feds just launched “a bold new audit initiative” to punish employers who hire illegals. And starting Sept. 8, thousands of federal contractors are required to use the electronic E-Verify system. Result: a greater risk for immigration-related trouble than ever before …

Crackdown looms for misclassifying employees as contractors

10/19/2009

The GAO recently released a detailed report with a set of recommendations to address the persistent, widespread problem of employer misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The report urges the DOL and the IRS to step up enforcement efforts, so now’s a particularly opportune time for employers that have classified any workers as independent contractors to carefully review those decisions.

EEOC says it’s legal to ‘encourage’ minorities to apply; but don’t say you’re ‘seeking’ them

10/16/2009

If you tack the phrase “women and minorities are encouraged to apply” onto the end of a help-wanted ad, could that be construed as race or sex discrimination? In a carefully worded opinion letter, the EEOC has said “no.”

Use eyes and ears to spot, stop harassment

10/15/2009

Some work environments are more at risk than others for sexual harassment to develop and fester. And those employers have a special obligation to look for harassment—and stop it. For example, if a few women now hold jobs traditionally performed by men, make sure the women aren’t being subjected to sexually demeaning or offensive conduct.

Don’t overreach when seeking balanced hiring

10/15/2009

If you’re looking to remedy past discrimination by adopting employment policies that encourage minority hiring, watch out! You may be vulnerable to a reverse discrimination lawsuit. That may be true even if your policies resulted from a court order to address discrimination.