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Employment Law

Choreographer dances off with $125,000 settlement

02/07/2013
Marymount Manhattan College has settled an EEOC discrimination lawsuit that alleged the college discriminated against a 64-year-old choreography instructor when it denied her a tenure-track assistant professorship.

ADA: No need to eliminate essential functions

02/07/2013
Some disabled employees think employers should drastically modify their jobs so they are do-able, even if that means removing essential functions from job descriptions. Fortunately, there’s no such requirement.

Remind bosses: No comments on FMLA use

02/07/2013

Some managers and supervisors just can’t seem to resist offering “helpful” career advice to subordinates. That’s especially true for workers they may see as less devoted to their work than old-school employees. But a remark concerning absences covered by the FMLA may well be viewed as interference with a protected right.

The FMLA at 20: Anniversary overview of the landmark law

02/05/2013

Twenty years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed the FMLA into law. Since 1993, the law has provided eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child; caring for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition; or convalescence after an employee’s own serious health condition. Here’s a primer on one of the nation’s most critical employment laws

Must you offer more leave after FMLA ends?

02/04/2013

Do you have a draconian FMLA leave policy that calls for automatic termination for employees who use up their FMLA entitlement before being cleared to return to work? If so, you’re playing with fire. That’s because employees may be eligible under the ADA for additional time off.

Could nonexempts’ use of smartphones cause wage-and-hour liability?

02/01/2013
Hourly employees’ use of smartphones (as well as online email access from remote locations) has boosted worker productivity. However, it has also substantially increased the risk of off-the-clock-work violations.

U.S. Supreme Court addresses arbitration of noncompete agreements

02/01/2013
In Nitro-Lift Technologies, L.L.C. v. Howard, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Oklahoma Supreme Court failed to adhere to a correct interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Employers must wait 3 years to come off OSHA’s SVEP list

02/01/2013
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has issued a memorandum setting out criteria for removing employers from the Severe Violator Enforcement Pro­­gram (SVEP), the government’s watch list of most dangerous workplaces.

Texas agencies settle with Feds over pay disparities

02/01/2013
The U.S. Department of Justice and the EEOC have an­­nounced a settlement with two Texas state agen­­cies, resolving pay discrimination allegations at a state department that no longer exists.

Employers get to choose cost-cutting moves

02/01/2013

In tight times, employers must explore every cost-saving option. After looking at several ways to balance the budget, you may decide you need to trim the workforce. Don’t be surprised if a laid-off em­­ployee sues.