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Employment Law

You can be liable for ‘Sex-Plus’ discrimination, too

08/01/2007

You may think the only types of discrimination you have to worry about are those specified in Title VII, other federal laws and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. You would be wrong …

Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act covers reverse discrimination, too

08/01/2007

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act protects Michigan employees from reverse discrimination: Those who can show they were denied promotions or other opportunities because of non-membership in a racial group can and do recover damages …

No one wins in unprofitable victory for Saginaw police officer

08/01/2007

The news keeps coming of high-dollar retaliation allegations involving Michigan police departments …

Michigan Seamless Tube to pay $500,000 for hiring discrimination

08/01/2007

Michigan Seamless Tube will pay $500,000 to settle a class-action race-discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC for refusing to hire black former employees of Vision Metals …

Lesson to teen: Don’t (Wolf) whistle while you work

08/01/2007

A teenager working at Nino Salvaggio’s International Marketplace in Clinton Township lost his job for whistling at a co-worker when she entered the store decked out in her prom dress …

Draft ‘Last-Chance’ agreements with care

08/01/2007

Q. We have a poor-performing employee who is up for discharge. The union has requested that we give him one “last chance,” and has said that it will agree to a last-chance agreement if we don’t terminate his employment now. What is the impact of a last-chance agreement? — J.R.

Health insurance maintained during FMLA leave

08/01/2007

Q. We have an employee who is out on an FMLA leave of absence. Our company provides health insurance for its employees and their families, and employees pay 20% of the premium. Our employee has not paid his share of the premium. Should we cancel his health insurance? We are very nervous about doing so because the employee has a very serious health condition. — J.B.

Discipline process doesn’t have to be ‘Right,’ just honest

08/01/2007

If every decision you made on the job when disciplining employees had to be based on absolute truth, the workplace would be paralyzed. So it should come as some comfort to know that courts don’t require you to be 100% correct …

Before discharge, investigate supervisor’s claims

08/01/2007

If you don’t want to subject your organization to liability for a supervisor’s biased or discriminatory discipline recommendations, conduct at least a brief independent investigation …

Establish promotion criteria to discourage lawsuits

08/01/2007

If your organization is like many, employees anxious to move up the ladder covet promotions. But if you have no clear-cut standards or easy-to-explain criteria, lawsuits lurk behind every unqualified, but passed-over, employee …