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Employment Law

Justify exempt status to avoid class actions

04/06/2011

It takes just one or two disgruntled employees to start an FLSA class-action overtime lawsuit. Be prepared to fight such lawsuits early and vigorously. Your best bet: Classify employees correctly in the first place.

New Supreme Court ruling expands your potential FLSA liability

04/06/2011
The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids employers from retaliating against workers because they’ve “filed any complaint” about their pay, perks or work conditions. On March 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such complaints don’t need to be in writing to be considered “protected activity.”

NLRB ruling revisited: Can employees really trash you on Facebook?

04/05/2011
Don’t read too much into the NLRB’s recent “Facebook rant” ruling. Despite much employer hand-wringing, the decision didn’t give employees a free pass on social media posts. They still don’t have license to defame, disparage or otherwise trash their company, management, product or co-workers. Here’s why.

New immigration worry: ‘Mob’ charges for hiring illegals

04/05/2011

The immigration law landscape keeps changing, and employers must keep up. Now a new risk is emerging: Clever attorneys have begun filing RICO Act lawsuits, alleging that some employers are essentially running “mob” operations by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

Hey, boss, you’d better call HR! Warn managers: Don’t fix complaints informally

04/05/2011

When supervisors hear someone complaining about sexual or other harassment, they may be tempted to blow it off as a distraction or tell the co-workers involved to stop it. That’s not good enough. To prevent a successful employee lawsuit, you must impress on first-line supervisors and managers that it’s their responsibility to report any sexual harassment complaint to HR or other appropriate company official.

The HR I.Q. Test: April ’11

04/04/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Who let the dogs in (and pigs and monkeys)?

04/01/2011
Since 1991, when the ADA gave disabled people the right to bring service animals into shops and other public buildings, a variety of animals became characterized as “service animals.” New Department of Justice regulations that took effect March 15 say only dogs (and miniature horses in some cases) now qualify as service animals.

Document all disciplinary actions, including why and when you decided to act

03/31/2011

Some employees facing discipline believe that if they file a discrimination complaint, they can escape trouble. If disciplined, they’ll cry “retaliation!” Smart employers counter this subtle form of blackmail by clearly documenting and time-stamping all decisions and the process that led up to those decisions.

Boss nagging employee about FMLA leave? Prepare for lawsuit

03/31/2011
Short staffing makes management difficult. When an employee is out on medical leave, others have to pick up the slack. Still, remind supervisors that they can’t push employees who are out on FMLA leave to perform work while on leave. They also can’t ask employees to return early from FMLA leave. Either one is just asking for legal trouble.

Dayton revises police exam following race bias settlement

03/31/2011

As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the city of Dayton has revised its police entrance examination. The DOJ and Dayton had settled a 2009 suit involving allegations that the city discriminated against black applicants who applied for jobs in both the police and fire departments.