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Employment Law

Must employers pay doctors to fill out FMLA forms?

09/18/2008

FMLA certification forms are pretty simple—until complications arise. What kind of complications? How about an invoice from an employee’s doctor demanding that you pay the bill for filling out the form? Do employers have to pay? It depends.

Congress Approves Bill to Expand ADA’s Definition of ‘Disability’

09/17/2008

Congress gave final approval on Sept. 17 to legislation that will bring more Americans under the umbrella of “disabled” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Here’s what the bill means to HR professionals and U.S. employers …

Sample Policy: Overtime

09/16/2008
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

Free Download: Sample Overtime Policy

09/16/2008
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

Another worry when complaints get to court: Retaliation may be criminal conspiracy

09/15/2008
Here’s another thing to worry about when an employee testifies on behalf of someone suing the company: Retaliating against that employee by punishing him with additional or new work requirements or a poor evaluation may lead to federal criminal conspiracy charges …

Train bosses: Religious bias is illegal, too!

09/15/2008
Train managers, executives and, yes, business owners that discrimination on the basis of religion is illegal. They need to understand that making assumptions based on religion—how certain customers would perceive a waitress’s headscarf, for example—is a virtual invitation to be sued. Hire and promote based only on skills and talent …

Independent review can catch retaliation

09/15/2008
Cynthia Morrison, who had worked for 17 years as an emergency room registrar, sued for age discrimination and retaliation. A lower court dismissed her discrimination claim, but sent the retaliation claim to the jury, which awarded Morrison $115,000. But the hospital appealed and won …

Speaking of cutting to the bone …

09/15/2008
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in Athens has granted preliminary class certification to a group of quail processors at Quail International in Greensboro who claim the company forces processors to work off the clock and through breaks in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act …

Don’t overlook fresh evidence that the employee you fired deserved to go

09/12/2008
Sometimes, employers fire employees for the wrong reasons and end up in litigation. Then, while preparing to defend against the wrongful-termination case, they discover other—perhaps even better—reasons to have terminated the employee. Make sure your attorneys know about the new evidence …

Ask attorney for help to make sure employment contract contains proper language

09/12/2008
If you use employment contracts, don’t be tempted to draft the agreement yourself. Doing so may mean you’ll end up with terms that go beyond what you meant. Contract law is tricky, and an experienced attorney can best guide you in creating a contract that is clear, unambiguous and complies with Michigan law …