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Employment Law

How can we make the season bright—without exposing ourselves to legal liability?

11/25/2008

Q. Our employees have proposed that the company sponsor a holiday party at a local restaurant. Although we want our employees to have a good time, aren’t we exposing ourselves to potential liability?

What should we do? An employee says one of our clients harassed her

11/25/2008

Q. An employee recently complained that one of our clients sexually harassed her. May we be held liable for the client’s action?

Don’t fear conflicting reviews show discrimination

11/25/2008

Sometimes, employees work with several supervisors, all of whom provide input on that employee’s performance. But courts generally won’t view differing evaluations by more than one supervisor as evidence of discrimination

Tell bosses: Absolutely no comments on ethnicity

11/25/2008

Here’s another good reason to tell all managers you’ll tolerate absolutely no ethnic, religious or racial comments: Just one or two comments followed by an adverse employment action may be enough to establish a hostile work environment. And those later acts can extend the time the employee has to file his claim.

Lawsuit: Lehman bankruptcy stiffed riffed Jersey workers

11/25/2008

Miron Berenshteyn, a former computer programmer for Lehman Brothers in Jersey City, has filed a $5 million lawsuit alleging the company violated the federal and New Jersey WARN Acts when it laid off more than 100 workers in September.

Know the law: Simply taking FMLA leave doesn’t necessarily mean worker is disabled

11/25/2008

Generally, someone whose condition qualifies as a disability under the ADA is probably also entitled to FMLA leave when that disability flares up. But the reverse is not always true.

Say no to accommodations if ‘disability’ barely scratches the surface of credibility

11/25/2008

Employees have the strangest ideas about what constitutes a disability and whether they are entitled to a reasonable accommodation. For example, many people have minor phobias—let’s say a fear of spiders. That doesn’t mean employers have to provide a spider-free workplace.

Pay attention to timing when asking applicants to sign arbitration agreements

11/25/2008

Requiring employees to arbitrate most employment disputes can save your organization time and money—if you can get the agreement to stick.

Gov’t workers with free speech claims can charge retaliation

11/25/2008

An employee who works for a government agency or other public employer and files an internal grievance may be protected from retaliation. That’s because the grievance may be protected First Amendment speech, against which the employer can’t retaliate.

Sparks fly in Camden over layoff procedure

11/25/2008

Camden Chief Operating Officer (COO) Theodore Davis announced plans to cut 31 government jobs in October. Rather than rely on union agreements to decide where to cut, Davis used his own system, which he said was more equitable than established civil service procedures. Unions representing municipal employees say that’s illegal …