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Employment Law

When employee’s partner has difficult pregnancy, be prepared to offer ADA accommodations

07/06/2011
Here’s a novel legal theory of disability law that may spell trouble for some employers: Criticizing and punishing a worker whose partner is experiencing a complicated, disabling pregnancy may be association discrimination under the ADA.

Follow up regularly after bias complaint

07/06/2011

There’s no set standard for the amount of time that must pass between a discrimination complaint and an adverse employment action for it to qualify as retaliation. In fact, federal judges hearing retaliation claims have wide discretion in determining whether something may be retaliation based on timing alone. To be safe, periodically follow up with employees who have complained about bias.

New NLRB rules aim to speed up union elections

07/06/2011
In a move that delighted labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board in June proposed new rules that would expedite the process by which employees vote on whether or not to form a union.

Can you vary pay based on location, duties?

07/05/2011
When employees start grumbling about pay, they’ll sometimes look far afield to find a grievance they can latch onto. Next thing you know, you’re facing a pay discrimination lawsuit. What does federal law say about pay systems based on geographic differences and varying duties?

The HR I.Q. Test: July ’11

07/05/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz.

Make sure your harassment ‘cure’ doesn’t make the condition worse

07/04/2011

Employers have an obligation to stop illegal harassment as quickly as possible. But don’t jump right on the first apparent solution—it may not be the best way to go. If your proposed fix actually makes things worse for the victim—in terms of pay, perks or working conditions—you’ll raise your liability risks to the roof.

What’s in a name? Maybe discrimination

07/01/2011
Résumés with common names are more likely to receive callbacks than those with Russian and African-American names, according to a study in the Journal of Managerial Psychology. Evaluating candidates based on name could trigger claims of race bias or national-origin discrimination.

How to manage ‘job creep’ in today’s jobless recovery

06/30/2011
More than half of all employees have taken on new roles during the eco­nomic downturn, according to a recent Spherion Staffing survey. That’s “job creep,” and it’s a big problem. Job creep has important employment law implications and it also means many of your job ­descriptions are probably outdated.

The EEOC, maximum leave policies and the new ADA amendments

06/30/2011
The EEOC is getting serious about helping disabled Americans. In early June, the agency held a public meeting on the use of leave as a reasonable accommodation. That move came just two weeks after the agency put its new ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) regulations into effect.

Feds issue new tip-credit pooling rules

06/30/2011

Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled. The ruling comes as part of a new regulation clarifying the tip-pooling issue and establishing notice requirements for employers that use a tip credit for tipped employees.