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Employment Law

43% of Department of Labor appointments still vacant

02/05/2019
More than two years into President Trump’s term, 43% of Department of Labor positions requiring Senate confirmation remain unfilled, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

Job descriptions: Why you need ’em, how to write ’em

02/05/2019
Federal labor law requires HR professionals to do a lot of different things. Writing job descriptions is not one of them. Because this arduous task is optional, many organizations skip right over it. That’s not wise. There are many practical and legal reasons to draft (and up­­date) job descriptions.

Sometimes, it’s impossible to accommodate disability

02/04/2019
There are limits to what’s considered a reasonable ADA accommodation.

Appeals court rules against health-care employee who refused vaccine

02/04/2019
The ADA prohibits employers from forcing employees to undergo medical testing before being offered a job. Employers should always be prepared to justify testing before requiring employees to participate.

Insist on working within medical restrictions

02/04/2019
The ADA doesn’t require employers to let disabled employers test the limits of their abilities in ways that may lead to injury.

Nonunion workforce? How union rules could still trip you up

02/01/2019
The federal labor law can be a trap for the unwary—even for nonunion employers. Even if your employees don’t belong to a union, the National Labor Relations Act applies to you. Example: A nonunionized employer now has to pay $900,000 to two fired employees to settle charges that it violated the NLRA. To avoid similar trouble, you must understand this law!

Note all details that led up to discipline

02/01/2019
Having good documentation of your reasoning will often persuade a judge or jury that discrimination wasn’t the real reason for differing discipline, and that you legitimately used discretion to arrive at the appropriate punishment.

Justify why you decided not to follow the ‘same rule violation, same punishment’ rule

02/01/2019
Generally, if two employees break the same workplace rule and don’t have any prior violations, you should punish them the same way. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make judgment calls on which one may deserve more severe punishment, including discharge.

Supreme Court could address LGBT bias

01/31/2019
The U.S. Supreme Court could decide in the next few weeks whether to hear cases that ask if Title VII’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex also bans discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

RICO doesn’t cover employment law violations

01/31/2019
An employer has won a case that could have greatly complicated employment law litigation. A federal court has refused to allow a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim against an employer for using phones and the internet to discuss terminating an employee.