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Employment Law

Balance Staffing blindsided by recruiter’s ADA lawsuit

07/13/2010

Balance Staffing’s short-sighted treatment of a visually impaired recruiter will cost it $100,000 to settle a disability discrimination suit. Balance Staffing, a nationwide temp agency with operations in Florida, hired Jocelyn Snower. Snower was an experienced recruiter, but company owner Robert Feinstein did not know she was blind when he hired her. When he found out, he immediately fired her …

Bank of America workers sue for overtime

07/13/2010

Workers at Bank of America’s retail branches and call centers in five states have filed a lawsuit claiming they are due unpaid overtime from the banking giant. The suit, filed in federal district court in Kansas, alleges the bank requires employees to work more than 40 hours per week, but only pays them for 40.

No notice when suing gov’t for workers’ comp retaliation

07/13/2010

Floridians who want to sue local governments or the state for personal injuries must give the government advance notice that they are preparing a lawsuit. But what about claims for retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim when the governmental unit is the employer?

Offering new employee higher pay than incumbent of opposite sex? Document why

07/13/2010
Sometimes, you really do need to recruit someone from outside the organization—someone who may already be earning more than you usually pay your employees. When making a hire like that, make sure you document why you chose to top existing salaries, especially if the new hire is the opposite sex of any incumbents.

When an abusive supervisor is equally intolerable to everyone, is it harassment?

07/13/2010
As an HR professional, you’re constantly being called on to decide whether an employee’s rights have been violated. Take, for example, a manager who does a lot of indiscriminate yelling. As long as he  doesn’t say anything outrageously linked to sex or race, there may be nothing illegal about the behavior. But explaining that to the affected employees can be difficult.

Make it one of HR’s goals: Ensure everyone gets training on harassment

07/13/2010

Courts have long said that employers are supposed to be proactive about preventing and stopping sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers know or should know that simply having a sexual harassment policy in place isn’t enough—they have to aggressively enforce that policy. What employers may not fully realize is that no one within the organization is exempt from education, training and discipline.

Post all open positions to avoid litigation

07/13/2010

Here’s an easy way to prevent a failure-to-hire lawsuit: Routinely advertise all open positions and let employees and applicants know how to look for opportunities. Otherwise, you could be sued by an employee or potential applicant, alleging that she would have applied if she had only known about the opening.

Just quitting isn’t ‘constructive discharge’

07/13/2010

Some employees have heard through the legal grapevine that if the going gets tough at work, they can just get going. They believe they can up and quit—and then turn around and sue, claiming that they had no choice but to leave because they were suffering retaliation for taking some protected action. This is an example of “constructive discharge.” But conditions have to be pretty onerous before the tactic works.

Record injuries, even during summer ‘fun’ events

07/13/2010
OSHA requires employers with 10 or more employees to report work-related injuries on injury and illness logs. A recent OSHA interpretation letter makes clear that injuries suffered during company outings and sporting events still count.

When you learn of possible harassment, investigate promptly, take fast action

07/09/2010

Employers that act fast when an employee complains about any form of harassment can almost always salvage what would otherwise be a very bad situation. The key is prompt investigation—followed by equally fast and decisive action if it turns out the complaint has merit.