Employment Law

1 comment won’t make hostile environment

01/15/2014

Here’s some good news for HR managers handling sexual harassment complaints. As long as you act fast, investigate and use your best efforts to prevent a repeat performance, one sexually explicit comment isn’t grounds for a lawsuit.

‘Reasonable’ statutes of limitation OK under ERISA

01/15/2014

Wading into perhaps the most mundane issue it has faced in years, the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 16 ruled that a long-term disability plan’s three-year statute of limitations on claims was “reasonable” and did not violate ERISA, which governs many employee benefits.

It’s business as usual, even after sex change

01/14/2014

If you have an employee going through a sex change or other gender-identity issues, follow the lesson from the employer in this case: Treat such employees as you always have and make sure they aren’t harassed by co-workers. But don’t fear legitimate discipline or an evaluation based on performance.

‘No swords at work’ rule: How is that religious bias?

01/13/2014

Anyway you slice it, employers these days should hesitate to deny an employee’s religious request without first checking with a lawyer. It’s all just very complicated with so many religions and their different rules on grooming, clothing and attendance. But can you draw the line when a religion requires followers to wear a sword into the workplace?

NLRA and Taft-Hartley Act

01/13/2014

HR Law 101: In 1935 Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), giving workers the right to organize, to bargain collectively and to strike. By the late 1940s unions had become politically and economically powerful, and Congress decided to amend the act to develop a more balanced national labor policy …

Gender Discrimination

01/11/2014

HR Law 101: Your supervisors probably understand that they can’t pay a male more than a female to perform the same job or dole out promotions only to males. What they may not appreciate are the more subtle forms that gender discrimination may take. They may not make an effort to scrutinize their decisions to uncover any entrenched patterns of discrimination and practices that discourage women from applying for promotions or asking for raises …

ADA: Overview

01/11/2014

HR Law 101: The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who can perform a job’s essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation. All employers that have 15 or more employees must comply with the law …

Class action settlements fell sharply in 2013

01/10/2014

Advantage employers! A new legal landscape is working against employees who file work-related class-action suits, following key U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Result: 2013 class-action settlements were lower than since 2006.

ADA: Drug and Alcohol Addiction

01/10/2014

HR Law 101: The ADA requires employers to walk a fine line between enforcing reasonable workplace safety and behavioral rules and making accommodations for those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The law doesn’t protect current users of illegal (i.e., “street”) drugs, but it does protect alcoholics and those who’ve shaken their drug addiction sufficiently to no longer be classified as active illegal users …

Grant FMLA leave for pregnancy or any pregnancy-related issues

01/09/2014

Almost anything connected to a pregnancy can become the basis for a valid FMLA leave request, even if the employee is physically well. Take, for example, a doctor’s written notice that the pregnant employee should be placed on light-duty work for her own safety. If no such positions are available, you may have to allow the worker time off as FMLA leave.