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Employment Law

Lights, camera, contract! Actors unions weigh new agreement

12/21/2010
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have announced that they recently reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the largest Hollywood producers’ group.

Harassment claim? Dragging feet creates more trouble

12/21/2010
Courts are losing patience with employers that ignore sexual harassment instead of dealing with it right away.

You must try to stop harassment–even if it’s clients or customers doing the harassing

12/21/2010

You know you have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. If prevention doesn’t work, then you have an obligation to put an end to it. But what if you work in a setting where sexual harassment “comes with the territory”? From the court’s perspective, that doesn’t matter.

L.A. postal facility gets shocking message from OSHA

12/21/2010
OSHA delivered a harsh message to the U.S. Postal Service’s International Service Center in Los Angeles in the form of 18 citations for unsafe working conditions. The problem: Mail processing equipment could cause fatal electrical shocks.

Here’s the right way to recoup training costs

12/21/2010
It’s expensive to train employees, especially if the content is highly specialized. Smart employers protect their investments by getting employees to agree to repay training costs if they leave soon after receiving the valuable benefit. Just don’t mess with the employee’s final paycheck.

Cooperation, patience can stop ADA claims

12/21/2010

Sometimes, supposedly disabled employees try to play their employers by piling on new, incessant demands for reasonable ADA accommodations. For better or worse, it’s often best to just go along, especially if the accommodation won’t cost much. It could keep you out of court.

EEOC’s final GINA regs emphasize employee notification

12/21/2010
The EEOC has issued final regulations implementing the employment provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), clarifying employer compliance issues and offering model language to help employees understand their rights under the law.

React calmly to employee requests for leave of absence

12/20/2010
Suppose an employee tells you she needs to take a leave of absence due to an illness. Such leave could be covered under the FMLA. Her absence may cause you scheduling problems and extra work. That may be frustrating, but do your best not to show any emotion. Here’s why.

Ho Ho No: Don’t force wearing of Santa hats

12/17/2010
During last year’s holiday season, gift wrappers at a Belk department store were asked to wear Santa hats and aprons. But Myra Jones-Abid, a Jehovah’s Witness, refused. Belk took back the Santa hat and gave Jones-Abid a pink slip. The EEOC presented the company with a lawsuit …

Disabled worker can’t do OT: Can we lay her off?

12/16/2010
Q. We’ve been accommodating a disabled employee by letting her skip overtime. Her doctor says she needs extra sleep. But now we need to lay off several employees and start requiring mandatory overtime. Can we terminate those employees who can’t do overtime? That would include the disabled employee.