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Employment Law

Few details needed to begin hostile environment suit

03/03/2015
Employees who claim they were victims of a sexually hostile work environment don’t have to provide an exhaustive list of alleged hostile acts. Details can be provided later.

Use updated FMLA forms–at least for the rest of March

03/02/2015
With almost no advance notice, the federal government has revised recently expired FMLA forms to reflect a new effective date: March 31, 2015. The core suite of FMLA forms—doctors’ certifications of serious health conditions, notices of rights and responsibilities and designation notices—was set to expire Feb. 28.

Progress or gridlock? Bill would expand NLRB

03/02/2015
Sen. Lamar Alexander has introduced a bill that would expand the National Labor Relations Board from five members to six. Currently, the president appoints five board members with the “advice and consent of the Senate.” By law, two board members must be from the political party other than the president’s.

Single stupid comment can tank legitimate decision

03/02/2015
Bosses who don’t have appropriate verbal filters can accidentally turn a legitimate management decision into evidence of discrimination.

Appeal of firing doesn’t give more time to sue

03/02/2015
Employees who claim they were fired for discriminatory reasons have just 300 days to file an EEOC complaint. The clock starts ticking the day they’re terminated, not when they have exhausted internal appeals processes.

The Uber model: Worker classification in the sharing economy

02/27/2015
The car service company Uber exemplifies America’s new sharing economy, testing the often blurry boundary between employee and independent contractor. It’s a business model that invites confusion and controversy.

FMLA rights extended to all same-sex spouses

02/26/2015
The rule change grants FMLA leave rights to same-sex spouses even in states that do not sanction or recognize gay marriage.

Harassment or just a bad-behaving boss?

02/26/2015
Courts expect em­­ploy­­ees to have relatively thick skins. Behavior that is crude or obnoxious isn’t usually grounds for a harassment lawsuit unless it targets people based on a protected characteristic (sex, age, race, disability, etc.).Still, the “equal opportunity harasser” argument is a pretty flimsy nail to hang your defense on.

Justices appear ready to back applicant in hijab case

02/26/2015
Oral arguments held Feb. 25 in a Supreme Court case involving a teenager who says the Muslim headscarf she wore to an interview cost her a job at Abercrombie & Fitch did not go well for the retail chain.

California bill would turn pro cheerleaders into employees

02/25/2015
A bill before the California General Assembly would require the state’s professional sports teams to give cheerleaders full employment rights, including paying the minimum wage and overtime.