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Employment Law

Consider paying for lunch breaks to avoid overtime claims

12/01/2007

Overtime lawsuits are becoming an epidemic. Lawyers file class-action lawsuits at the first hint that employees worked “off the clock,” either before the workday started or by working through parts of their unpaid lunch periods. There’s a simple way to avoid problems …

 

Beware informal policy on returning after pregnancy

12/01/2007

Many employers try to simplify medical leave policies by adopting the same eligibility requirements set by the FMLA. But those same employers sometimes make exceptions for select employees, especially if they are seen as too valuable to lose to a short medical leave. Watch out if that’s your informal practice. Denying that flexibility to pregnant employees probably violates the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act …

Collective bargaining terms mean no unemployment comp for pregnant employees

12/01/2007

Employees who must stop working at a certain point in their pregnancies because a union agreement compels the leave are not entitled to unemployment compensation in Ohio. That’s true even if the pregnant employee could physically work and would have done so if it were an option …

Union members can’t use ‘Public policy’ violation as basis for retaliation claim

12/01/2007

Ohio state law may provide limited protection for employees fired in violation of “public policy.” But as the following case shows, those cases are limited to at-will employees, not those who have the protection of union representation or a union contract. Such employees don’t need the same protection that at-will employees may need …

It’s not discrimination, it’s just part of the job

12/01/2007

For a decade, the Chagrin Falls post office allowed mail carrier Martin Tepper to take Saturdays off to observe the Sabbath. In 2002, under pressure from fellow carriers tired of working extra weekends, the U.S. Postal Service began scheduling him for Saturday duty. Tepper sued in federal court in 2004 claiming religious discrimination …

AK Steel uses VEBA to settle retiree health care lawsuit

12/01/2007

AK Steel settled a lawsuit with a group of retirees from its Middletown Works by transferring their health care coverage to a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA) trust. The 4,600 retirees sued in 2006 after the company moved to cut retiree health care costs to improve its competitiveness …

Prohibiting salary talk

12/01/2007

Q. It has always been a rule in our workplace that employees’ individual compensation information is to be kept confidential and is not to be discussed with co-workers. I recently had to write up one of my employees for violating this policy. That employee told me that my rule prohibiting discussion of wage information is illegal. Is this true? …

Ohio minimum wage and part-Year workplace

12/01/2007

Q. We operate an outside recreational facility that is only operational for three months a year. Our attorney has advised us that we are not required to pay the current Ohio minimum wage or overtime wage rate as stipulated on the Ohio minimum wage poster. I thought that all Ohio employers were required to pay the minimum wage rate and overtime, and do not want to violate the law. Is our attorney’s advice correct? …

Wage-and-Hour compliance: How to win the numbers game

12/01/2007

Have you or any of your organization’s supervisors ever given the go-ahead to hourly employees to work through lunch so they could leave work an hour early for a special occasion? Sure you have. Who hasn’t? But know this: Every time you do it, you’re probably breaking the law …

Looking for a court fight? Crack down after worker complains

12/01/2007

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to retaliation. That’s why it’s crucial for supervisors and managers to understand: Once an employee has filed a complaint, don’t suddenly start enforcing rules you let slide before. If you do, the likely result will be a retaliation lawsuit …