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Employment Law

Settlement leaves weight loss firm $20 million lighter

01/05/2009

LA Weight Loss, which was renamed Pure Weight Loss in 2007, has settled a lawsuit filed against it by the EEOC. The agency had alleged a nationwide pattern and practice of sex discrimination at locations across the country …

UT faculty association sues over job losses at medical branch

01/05/2009

An association representing University of Texas faculty members recently filed a lawsuit against university officials on behalf of UT Medical Branch employees, challenging the legitimacy of the decision to lay off 3,800 employees in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

New FMLA regulations and military leave: What you need to know

01/05/2009

New FMLA regulations go into effect on Jan. 16. Employers must become familiar with these changes and adjust their policies accordingly. Here’s a summary of some of the most important changes to the FMLA.

Can I fire an employee whose financial woes have me worried about our own finances?

01/05/2009

Q. I recently discovered that an employee who handles my company’s accounts receivable has filed for bankruptcy. Can I discharge this employee?

Can we demand a second opinion on fitness for duty after FMLA leave?

01/05/2009

Q. We have an employee returning from a leave taken under the FMLA. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we question the worker’s ability to perform his old job because the length of his absence was too short for him to recover completely. Also, the fitness-for-duty certificate simply states that he is “able” to work, without addressing his specific job duties. Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

May we recover insurance premiums paid while employee was on FMLA leave?

01/05/2009

Q. I have an employee who is taking leave under the FMLA. The company is continuing to pay the same portion of her health insurance premiums that we paid while she was working. If the worker fails to return to work when her protected leave expires, may the company recover the premium payments made during her leave period?

ADA: Performance and Conduct Standards

01/02/2009

In response to numerous performance-related questions from employers, the EEOC released a detailed guide to help employers apply performance and conduct standards to employees with disabilities. Here’s a summary of the EEOC’s recommendations.

New ADA and FMLA rules kick in this month

01/01/2009

The year that the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) predicts will carry “the most sweeping HR-related changes in 30 years” starts with a bang this month as HR pros must adapt to important changes to two key employment laws: the FMLA and the ADA.

Track reasons for multiple FMLA leaves

12/31/2008

It’s a good idea to keep careful track of the reasons why employees take FMLA leave—especially if an employee takes leave on different occasions for different reasons.

Seek civility, don’t sweat oversensitivity

12/31/2008

Whether a work environment is actually sexually hostile depends on whether that’s how an average person would perceive it. A supersensitive person won’t get to sue for sexual harassment if an ordinary person would brush off the alleged harassment.