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Employment Law

Supreme Court: Vance case revisits supervisor liability under Title VII

11/26/2012
The Supreme Court tackles a contentious issue: When it comes to harassment and discrimination, just what does “supervisor” mean? Regardless of how the Court rules, employers must ensure that their policies and practices are consistent with Title VII.

It’s your call: Allowing intermittent FMLA leave after birth is up to employer

11/26/2012
The DOL’s FMLA rules clearly say, “An eligible employee may use intermittent or reduced schedule leave after the birth to be with a healthy newborn child only if the employer agrees.” Whatever you decide, put it in writing and be consistent.

COBRA 101: Employers’ obligations under the law

11/22/2012
Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, em­­ployers are required to continue offering health insurance benefits to workers and their covered dependents for a specified period after they leave the organization.

Obama’s second term: What it means for HR

11/21/2012
Now that the Obama administration is unshackled from an upcoming election, expect it to push hard for changes in workplace law that it failed to achieve in the first term. What does this mean for employment law? Here’s an outlook:

EEOC: 2012 job bias complaints remained near record high

11/20/2012

America’s economic struggles continued to fuel the job discrimination fire in 2012. Employees filed 99,412 charges of job discrimination with the EEOC in fiscal year 2012, only slightly fewer than in 2011. Get the latest stats and learn 10 steps for responding to an EEOC complaint.

Sick-day details on company calendar: Too risky?

11/20/2012

Disclosing on a company calendar that an employee is out because of sickness or FMLA leave is problematic. An employer should never disclose that absences are due to medical or health reasons. You must maintain the confidentiality of such information.

Fire if necessary: Complaining about bias doesn’t earn free pass to terrorize co-workers

11/19/2012
Don’t let past discrimination complaints by an obviously troubled employee keep you from ensuring workplace safety. Even vague threats can justify firing a potentially dangerous employee. Few judges will see that as retaliation.

Contractor or employee? 5 steps to keep you out of harm’s way

11/19/2012

How can you ensure that the IRS or state authorities won’t challenge the status of workers you call contractors? And how can you avoid being sued by a contractor who claims he’s an em­­ployee entitled to benefits? Follow these five steps.

Should we be paying overtime to employee who receives after-hours phone calls?

11/16/2012

Q. One of our office managers regularly receives after-hours calls from our landlord about building management issues. Are we required to pay her overtime compensation for the resulting hours she works over eight in one day or over 40 in one week?

DOL sues to gain access to Forever 21’s vendor records

11/16/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor’s new crackdown on alleged wage-and-hour abuses in the Southern California garment industry has resulted in its first legal action.