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Employment Law

Federal law doesn’t cover misuse of trade secrets

06/12/2012
The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) doesn’t grant employers any legal recourse if an employee misuses information obtained from company computers, according to a recent federal court ruling.

OSHA seeks reinstatement of art school whistle-blower

06/11/2012
OSHA is suing the Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto after it fired an employee who complained to the feds about safety concerns.

Twin Davie firms share 17 OSHA citations

06/11/2012
OSHA has cited Merlin Industries Inc. and Thermal Concepts Inc.—two Davie businesses owned by the same family and sharing the same address—for 17 safety violations, worth $59,100 in fines.

Company itself may be liable when CEO is the harasser

06/11/2012
Here’s a difficult situation for even the most experienced HR pro: What should you do if you believe the head of your company is a harasser? There’s no easy answer, as this case shows.

Premarital sex or pregnancy discrimination? One’s protected while the other is not

06/11/2012
There is no freedom from discrimination based on having premarital sex, but there is a right to be free of pregnancy discrimination. It may seem odd, but employers can technically fire someone for behavior that doesn’t meet the employer’s “moral” standards as long as no other protected characteristic is involved.

Didn’t know employee wanted training? Be sure to extend invitation next time

06/11/2012
Failing to offer some employees the opportunity to participate in training can mean a possible lawsuit. But that’s only true if the employee who missed out on the training opportunity let it be known that he was interested.

Beware national-origin bias charges following criticism of accent

06/11/2012
Do you have employees who were born and raised in other countries and who therefore speak English with heavy, foreign-sounding accents? If so, be careful how you approach any discussion about their speech. If supervisors or managers criticize workers’ accents, a national-origin discrimination lawsuit may be in your company’s future.

More Floridians filed EEOC complaints last year

06/11/2012
Floridians filed 307 more discrimination complaints with the EEOC in fiscal year 2011 than they did in 2010. The greatest number of Florida complaints—3,231 in all—alleged retaliation.

Don’t count FMLA against attendance record

06/11/2012
Employers that count FMLA-covered absences against employees are interfering with their FMLA rights. Before you make a final termination decision based on poor attendance, make absolutely sure that you have excluded all possible FMLA leave.

Beat bias charges by documenting specific reasons for the discipline you choose

06/11/2012

All employees are supposed to be treated equitably, regardless of their protected class. But just as each employee is different, so may discipline sometimes differ. To account for those differences, be very specific about the underlying reasons for your discipline.