Employment Law

Mere petty behavior? Don’t sweat bias suit

10/10/2013

Employees sue over the most trivial workplace incidents. Fortunately, courts have more important things to do than soothe hurt feelings. Busy judges are quickly dismissing cases that are based on nothing more than a few petty incidents.

Timeout! Don’t let sports analogies penalize you in court

10/10/2013

As football season heats up, we pause today to recognize all the football-related expressions in the workplace. We ask employees to “quarterback” a project. We develop a “game plan” for the big meeting. We praise workers who are “on the ball.” But as a new court ruling shows, supervisors who misuse sports analogies at work could find themselves benched in a federal courtroom …

Firing for ‘dishonesty’? Offer specifics about what happened

10/09/2013

Like most employers, you probably have general rules about what constitutes a firing offense—and “dishonesty” is probably on the list of no-no’s. It’s a vague term, subject to interpretation. That’s a good reason to make your disciplinary records specific.

Retirement offer instead of disciplinary hearing isn’t adverse action

10/08/2013

Offering a public employee the option to retire rather than face a disciplinary hearing that could result in discharge isn’t an adverse employment action. Therefore, it can’t be the basis of an employee’s discrimination lawsuit.

Show pregnancy didn’t prompt mom’s firing

10/08/2013

It’s become a little bit harder for women alleging pregnancy discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to win discharge lawsuits. To prevail, a new mother has to prove that pregnancy discrimination was a “substantial motivating factor” in her discharge.

Federal wage-and-hour law to cover home health aides

10/07/2013

The DOL has announced final rules extending FLSA minimum wage and overtime protections to most workers who provide home care assistance to elderly, sick and disabled people. The rules will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Victim’s racy conduct won’t cancel harassment

10/04/2013

You may think that a female employee who admitted to bringing a naked photo to work and showing it around couldn’t later complain when she became the target of sexual harassment. You would be wrong.

After FMLA, how much can the job change?

10/03/2013

When an employee returns from absences covered under the FMLA, he or she is entitled to be given “the same or an equivalent position.” But what counts as an equivalent position? As a series of recent court rulings show, minor alterations to a job—such as a change in duties or starting time—can sometimes support an employee’s claim of FMLA interference.

Can we require overtime work?

10/02/2013

Q. When our business gets busy, is it legal for us to require our nonexempt employees to work overtime on occasion?

How state’s new trade-secret law protects Texas businesses