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Employment Law

FMLA and ADA accommodation: Don’t dismiss request to work from home

05/06/2015

If, after FMLA leave, an employee asks for more time off or to work from home, handle the request just like you would another disabled employee’s reasonable accommodation request. Verify the disability and discuss possible accommodations before you reject the request. Otherwise, a jury may hold you liable.

Employee treated like a ‘nobody’? That’s not enough justification for a lawsuit

05/06/2015
When a worker is fired, he or she may look for a potential lawsuit. A visit to a lawyer may be enough to stir memories of alleged discrimination. Every little incident then becomes the basis for a discrimination claim. Fortunately, unless the fired worker complained earlier about the alleged discrimination or has a plausible explanation for why he didn’t, courts toss most such cases out.

Merrill Lynch trainee OT suit could become class action

05/06/2015
Two participants in Merrill Lynch’s management development program are suing the firm, alleging they were not paid for overtime they worked during the intensive training period.

Retaliation claim needn’t be written or to DOL

05/06/2015

Employers aren’t supposed to retaliate against employees who file wage-and-hour complaints against their employers. For quite some time now, there has been confusion over two things: first, whether the employee has to make a written complaint, and second, whether the complaint has to be made to a governmental agency like the Department of Labor. Now the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York employers, has settled the issue.

Part-timers can file age discrimination claims, too

05/06/2015
Part-timers enjoy the same protection from age bias as full-timers do.

Has the decline of organized labor been mostly good or bad?

05/06/2015
Only 11.1% of Americans belonged to a labor union in 2013, down from 20.1% in 1983 and an all-time high of 34.8% in 1954.

How can we structure a policy that lets us search employees’ belongings?

05/04/2015
Q. I am worried that some of my employees are storing illicit or illegal items at work. Is there a way for me to legally search their belongings?

Which laws cover military leave?

05/04/2015
Q. Some of the employees at my construction company are members of the military and scheduled for active duty in the near future. What laws and regulations apply to me and my employees who are in the military?

Can smokers claim an ADA disability to justify taking lengthy smoke breaks?

05/04/2015
Q. I own and run a paper company in Texas. Some of my employees who are cigarette smokers regularly take more breaks than the two, 15-minute breaks that are allowed under their employment contract—and some of the nonsmokers in the office are getting angry. When I confront the smokers about this conduct, I am increasingly hearing them make an unusual claim—that they have a “disability” and are protected by law. What should I do?

In Texas, decisions raise bar on waiver of arbitration agreements

05/04/2015
Two recent decisions from the Supreme Court of Texas and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals are reminders that, under Texas law, it is difficult for employers to waive arbitration agreements.