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Employment Law

How do we pay hourly staff for out-of-town travel?

10/19/2012

Q. I need to send a nonexempt employee to training for two days out of town. We’ll pay his mileage, hotel, meals and training costs. We plan to pay him for a normal eight-hour workday for both days … Do we have to pay for off-duty hours since the employee needs to stay at the training venue?

What to do? Breastfeeding breaks have turned into major workplace interruptions

10/18/2012

Q. As required, we provide milk-expression breaks. However, a new mother on our staff is having her mother, who cares for the newborn, bring in the baby twice a day to nurse. It would be OK if she just nursed and then sent grandma and baby home. But these breaks are taking 30 minutes or more as co-workers admire and play with the baby. Can we just tell her to express and refrigerate the milk?

Is this asking for trouble? Our sick policy requires a doctor’s note containing a diagnosis

10/18/2012
Q. Our policy states employees must provide a doctor’s note if they take sick leave of three or more days. Are we violating any laws by demanding the doctor’s note, which includes a diagnosis?

Must we employ someone with allergies?

10/18/2012

Q. We recently hired someone we didn’t know has a severe allergy to peanuts. If she even smells peanut butter, she has a severe allergic reaction, requiring her to use an EpiPen and head to the emergency room. Could we have refused to hire her if we had known about her allergies?

Looking back at Wal-Mart decision, 7th Circuit limits class actions

10/18/2012
If a recent 7th Circuit case is an indication, courts are taking a close look at whether groups of plaintiffs have enough in common to constitute a valid class. It may mean that em­­ployers will face fewer large class-action lawsuits.

7th Circuit: Disabled have preference for vacant jobs

10/18/2012
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against United Airlines in a disability accommodation case that could ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

EEOC says Leona’s Pizzeria reneged on settlement deal

10/18/2012
Women who were sexually harassed while working for Leona’s Pizzeria in Chicago never got their piece of the pie, according to the EEOC. Now the famous chain is being sued to force it to live up to its obligations.

After sex bias settlement, Brunswick will hire women

10/18/2012
Brunswick Corp. of Lake Forest and its subsidiary Lund Boat have agreed to settle sex discrimination charges filed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Preferring Spanish speaker doesn’t amount to bias

10/18/2012
Some jobs require not just bilingual ability, but fluency in a particular language other than English. Hiring for that specific skill isn’t discrimination.

Remind bosses: No comments about EEOC complaints

10/18/2012
When an employee files an EEOC complaint or lets anyone know he has sued former employers, remind managers not to say anything.