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Employment Law

Court: Georgia flag’s Confederate design does not create a hostile work environment

01/09/2013
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to reinstate a hostile work environment case involving the display of the Georgia state flag in the South­ampton Union Free School District.

Government whistle-blowing is protected speech–unless delivered in insubordinate manner

01/09/2013
Public employees who speak out on matters of public importance are engaging in protected speech. However, that protection has limits. When the “speech” is rude, offensive or threatening—and it occurs at work—the employer is free to punish the employee for the speech’s delivery (not its content).

Give employee time to weigh severance offer

01/09/2013
If you want to offer a severance package to an em­­ployee in exchange for giving up the right to contest a discharge, give him plenty of time to consider the offer. If you don’t, the signed deal may not be final.

Salaried worker on FMLA: How to pay half days?

01/09/2013

Q. We have a salaried employee who needs to take FMLA leave. Some days off will be full days, so they would be unpaid (unless she has vacation or personal time). But how do we pay for the intermittent days on which she only takes a half day off?  

Toxic bosses: When does ‘rude’ become ‘illegal’?

01/04/2013
As long as managers treat their employees alike—without regard to race, age, sex or other protected characteristic, and don’t otherwise violate the law—they can typically be as un­­pleasant as they want. Having a jerk for a boss isn’t grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. That said, it’s still a bad idea to tolerate toxic-boss behavior.

$1M settlement in San Francisco bank’s FLSA case

01/03/2013
San Francisco-based First Republic Bank will pay $1,009,644 in overtime back wages to 392 employees in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon. A DOL investigation revealed the bank incorrectly classified workers as exempt from the FLSA.

Cluelessness at WirelessCom costs big settlement

01/03/2013
WirelessCom, a small San Jose re­­seller of phone services, will pay $97,000 to settle a sexual harassment complaint filed by a then-19-year-old employee.

Workers need to know that customer lists are secret

01/03/2013
Want to stop unfair competition from former employees? Have them acknowledge that customer lists that they may have access to are considered trade secrets and that they can’t solicit customers from those lists after leaving.

Suspect leave abuse? Be certain before you act

01/03/2013
Most of the time, an employer needs only to honestly believe the reason given for a termination. However, that’s not true in cases involving the FMLA or California family leave.

Bullying: A bad management strategy (but that doesn’t make it illegal)

01/03/2013
There’s one or two in every workplace: a first-level supervisor who yells and screams at everyone. Bullying probably isn’t the best way to get the most out of employees, but that doesn’t make it illegal.