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Employment Law

Beat bias lawsuits with cold, hard facts

04/16/2012
Employers that are prepared to offer cold, hard facts to de­­fend their decisions—even those that may look suspicious at first glance—rarely lose lawsuits. The more objective the business reasons you have for personnel decisions, the better off you are.

Safety trumps bias claim in case of ‘no skirts’ rule

04/16/2012
One of the few times you can overrule an employee’s religious accommodation requests is when safety is involved, as the following case shows.

EEOC defines ‘reasonable factors other than age’ in age discrimination cases

04/12/2012

A few years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court said employers fighting claims of age discrimination carry the burden of proof to show that their alleged discriminatory decisions were actually based on a “reasonable factor other than age,” or RFOA, not discrimination. Last month, the EEOC issued final regulations that clarify—using a nonexhaustive list of “other than age” factors—what would legally qualify as a legitimate RFOA in age-bias cases. This new EEOC Q&A document explains the new rules… 

Must we honor an attorney’s request for our employee’s personnel records?

04/12/2012
Q. We recently received a letter from an attorney representing one of our employees. It requested “all personnel files and records, including all medical ­rec­ords” that we have on this employee. The letter contained an “authorization” that the employee had signed, but which did not specifically name our company. Do we have to provide this information? What if we don’t? And is there any risk to the company if we do provide it?

As union eyes our workforce, what should we do about its request for pay information?

04/12/2012
Q. I run a nonunion construction contracting company. We recently received a letter from a union stating that they believe we are paying substandard wages and benefits. The letter asked us to provide any information we might have to show that they are wrong and that we are paying area standard compensation to our people. Does the union have a right to this information?

Federal computer law doesn’t cover misuse of trade secrets

04/12/2012
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 Minnesota Federal District Court ruling.

Bargaining with labor unions in a changing work environment

04/12/2012
The current labor environment provides opportunities for unionized employers to negotiate more favorable collective bargaining agreements. Because of the economic realities affecting U.S. workplaces and the politics of labor unions, employers are finding that unions are open to addressing subjects on which they previously had resisted change.

Former employee of music publisher sings to EEOC

04/12/2012
Winona-based Hal Leonard Publishing Co. has settled a sexual harassment class action suit with the EEOC. The music publisher will pay $150,000 to a class of women who claim they had to endure unwanted grabbing, squeezing and sexual innuendo.

OSHA publishes new hazard communication standards

04/12/2012
OSHA has updated its hazard communication standard to harmonize it with international standards. Com­­panies that manufacture, transport or have chemicals in the workplace must begin complying with the new standard by June 26.

Management’s independent review trumps supervisor’s hidden discrimination

04/12/2012
When upper management rubber-stamps an employment decision made by a supervisor who discriminates, the employer is liable for the discrimination. But if higher-ups independently review the situation before ratifying the decision, the employer isn’t bound by its discriminating subordinate’s wrongdoing.