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Employment Law

For hourly employees, unauthorized extra time counts toward FMLA eligibility

09/01/2010

Employees have to work at least 1,250 hours in a year to qualify for FMLA leave. They also must have been employed for a total of one year. Thus, while many part-time employees may qualify for FMLA leave, others won’t because they haven’t met those thresholds. But now some hourly employees and their attorneys are trying a new approach.

It’s a buyer’s market: Hire the best candidates over those who meet minimum requirements

09/01/2010
Many employers are discovering they have many—perhaps dozens—of well-qualified applicants for each opening. That may leave some perfectly qualified applicants wondering why they weren’t picked. Don’t fret about selecting the applicant with the best résumé. While you may be sued by another applicant who believes some form of discrimination must have been at work in the selection process, that lawsuit won’t go far.

Promoting employees from rank-and-file to boss? Make sure their training includes retaliation

09/01/2010

Sometimes a newly minted supervisor takes the opportunity to settle old scores with former co-workers. That can create liability for the employer. That’s why—before the promotion goes into effect—you must train the candidates on sensitive issues such as harassment and retaliation.

DOL to study FMLA usage

09/01/2010
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced it plans to study how employees use leave under the FMLA, a move that may signal that more regulatory changes are on the way.

Check the context: Are those words harassment?

09/01/2010

Some words are inherently racist, offensive or discriminatory regardless of the context in which they are spoken. When such words fly in the workplace, courts will almost always conclude the environment was hostile. Other words, however, require a close look at the context in which they were used. One such term: “bitch.” If used in a context that clearly is aimed at putting down women, the term creates a sexually hostile work environment.

Bias complaint, then discipline? Watch out!

09/01/2010

Some employers try to avoid the impression of retaliation by making sure that whoever makes disciplinary decisions doesn’t know about any discrimination complaints. That way, they can argue that if the decision-maker wasn’t privy to the complaint, he couldn’t be retaliating. It isn’t quite that simple.

Polio pioneer sues Jefferson hospital over ouster

09/01/2010
Hilary Koprowski, the Polish-born developer of the precursor to Albert Sabin’s oral polio vaccine, has sued Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after it shut down his research lab. The hospital claims Koprowski’s lab doesn’t bring in enough grant money to fund its operation.

New Wall Street reform law includes key provisions on whistle-blowing, exec comp

09/01/2010
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law July 21, mainly affects public companies and employers in the financial sector. It sets new protections for employees who engage in whistle-blowing, and mandates more diversity in the financial sector and new restrictions on executive pay.

Does your employee-only restroom policy violate code?

09/01/2010
Issue: Many states require organizations to allow public access to their restrooms.
Risk: You, like many employers, may be unaware of this code. One complaint can trigger a fine and …

Is biggest-ever wage bias case headed to Supreme Court?

08/31/2010
The Supreme Court may rule on the pay discrimination lawsuit everyone is watching. Walmart has asked the High Court to overturn a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in April that allowed a class-action suit alleging widespread discrimination against women to proceed. At stake: $1 billion or more.