• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Remarkably, the EEOC can tell you whom to hire … and when!

07/01/2007

In the good ol’ days, employers used to control all hiring decisions. Not anymore. Today, the EEOC has the power to decide whom you will have to roll out the red carpet for …

Fair Labor Standards Act: The basics of compliance

07/01/2007

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets strict rules for how you pay employees, including setting a minimum wage and overtime. The basic concept is straightforward …

Paying exempt employees for travel time

07/01/2007

Q. We sometimes send exempt employees to conferences. Do we have to pay for travel time? Can we voluntarily pay them extra if the travel time extends into the evening or weekend, or will that destroy their exempt status?

Dealing with FMLA intermittent-leave nightmare

07/01/2007

Q. We have an employee with a chronic condition. We granted her intermittent FMLA leave provided she gave us a certification each time she takes time off for the condition. We have to constantly remind her to turn in the form. She also won’t call HR when she is sick, but leaves a message with the front desk. This makes it hard to track her usage. Can we terminate for refusing to follow the instructions laid out on the FMLA approval form?

Does FMLA cover ‘Emotional care’ of spouse in ICU?

07/01/2007

Q. We have an employee whose wife is in a hospital intensive care unit. The employee asked for FMLA leave. Is this an FMLA-eligible reason, even though the employee isn’t providing “care,” as the law requires?

Overtime for drive to remote worksite?

07/01/2007

Q. We required three hourly employees to drive 15 hours to an out-of-state warehouse to do finishing work and only paid them for eight hours of straight time. They worked a 40 hour week, made the drive on a Saturday, worked in the warehouse Sunday through Wednesday, then made the 15-hour return drive on Thursday and reported to work on Friday. Someone at the Labor Department told me that since the drive extended past their regular workday, we were required to pay for 15 hours, and it probably should have been overtime. Is that correct?

Employees must file discrimination cases within 180 days

07/01/2007

The U.S. Supreme Court handed employers a major victory in a new 5-4 ruling. No longer will you have to worry that an employment decision you made years — even decades — earlier will come back to haunt you …

Don’t allow shift preferences that favor some, exclude others

07/01/2007

Sometimes, it’s impossible to manage multiple shifts and satisfy everyone. Someone is bound to come to work unhappy …

To bury age discrimination, track decision-makers’ ages, too

07/01/2007

As the population gets older, age discrimination cases are sure to become more commonplace. Some tried-and-true administrative processes can discourage those claims …

Bankruptcy can lead to dismissal of discrimination suits

07/01/2007

Today, companies commonly emerge stronger and more competitive after filing for bankruptcy. An additional, unintended benefit may have a substantial impact on the HR office …