• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Punishing son for father’s complaint is retaliation

06/30/2011
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Thompson v. North American Stainless that it’s retaliation to fire someone because his fiancée complained about discrimination. Since then, courts have had to reconsider the idea that only the original complainant can sue for retaliation.

Considering asking for court review of arbitration decisions

06/30/2011
Think every arbitration decision is final? Think again. Arbi­tration agreements can allow a court to review the decision, as long as both parties agreed.

How to avoid ‘at-will’ legal limbo: Have attorney prepare employment contracts

06/30/2011

Here’s a case that shows you can’t have it both ways. A Texas appeals court has concluded that an employer can’t enforce an employment contract against an employee when that contract specifies that the employee remains an at-will employee.

Think twice before setting ‘English-only’ rule; courts view complaints as protected activity

06/30/2011
Don’t try to prevent employees from speaking languages other than Eng­lish at work, especially when they’re chatting among themselves. Unless you have a good business reason for banning other languages, courts will likely see the practice as discriminatory.

Work the ADA process when it isn’t obvious an employee has a qualifying disability

06/30/2011

Sometimes, employees jump right into requesting reasonable accommodations, even if it’s not obvious they have a disabling medical condition. Does the employer automatically violate the law by refusing to consider the request? That’s the question the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals just answered.

Voodoo a religion? Texas HHS about to find out

06/30/2011
A former employee of the Texas Health and Human Services Com­mis­sion has accused the state agency of retaliation and discrimination on the basis of her religion—voodoo.

Employee must prove ‘willful’ FLSA violation

06/30/2011
The FLSA can be a trap for employers that don’t properly classify their workers. In fact, getting classification wrong can lead to class-action lawsuits and large back-pay awards. And to confuse things even more, if the employer acted “willfully,” employees get those double awards going back three years. Now the 5th Circuit Court of Ap­peals has at least made it a little harder for employees to collect those damages for three years.

Layoff OK after FMLA leave–with justification

06/30/2011
Employees who take FMLA leave don’t get greater protection from layoffs than employees who don’t take leave. As long as you can show that you would have eliminated a job even if the employee had not taken FMLA leave, the termination is fine.

It’s legit to use differences in location and duties to justify varying pay scales

06/30/2011
Under the Equal Pay Act, em­­ployers can set different salaries based on geographically distinct job locations. In other words, you aren’t required to pay a manager in New York City the same as one in a lower-cost locale, even if the New York manager is male and the manager in the other location is female. Plus, any differences in responsibilities can help justify the difference.

Are you ready to punish a slacking employee? First, have a talk

06/29/2011

HR professionals or managers should always discuss performance or behavior problems with employees before disciplining them. After all, employees often admit their mistakes when confronted directly. And any admissions can be used later to support your disciplinary decision if the employee claims discrimination.