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Employment Law

Follow these best practices for tracking initial discrimination complaints

04/15/2010

Smart employers carefully track complaints to show that they respond quickly to alleged discrimination and treat it seriously. Done properly, a tracking system gives you ammunition if you ever need it in court. Here are some best practices for handling complaints:

Feel free to impose legitimate discipline, even if employee is out on FMLA leave

04/15/2010

The FMLA provides protected leave for employees who meet the law’s eligibility requirements. That protection includes the right to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position when the employee is ready to return to work. But that right has limits. Employers are entirely within their rights to continue any disciplinary action they began before the employee went out on leave.

Facing RIF, employees must show initiative

04/15/2010
Workers who lose their jobs in a reduction in force may look at those who were retained and conclude there had to be a discriminatory reason for their misfortune. But before they can successfully sue, employees must show some degree of initiative before they can claim discrimination. An employee who never applies for an open position or who doesn’t actively ask about available jobs isn’t going to win a lawsuit.

Doc’s note can sometimes work in your favor

04/15/2010

At some point in your HR career, you’ll run into a trainwreck of an employee with problems that just seem to escalate. It may start with a small injury and a workers’ comp claim. That can turn into a dispute over alleged harassment and retaliation. Eventually, she may even claim she has developed deep psychological scars … If she says she can’t work and has a doctor who supports her, you may be able to use the medical assessment to your benefit.

Can we force employees to use vacation days as part of military leave?

04/15/2010
Q. We provide unpaid leave to employees who are called up to serve in the armed forces, in accordance with the terms and conditions the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). May we require employees to concurrently exhaust any earned but unused vacation that they may have accumulated?

Can we force employees to use vacation days as part of FMLA leave?

04/15/2010
Q. In accordance with the FMLA, we provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to eligible employees for a qualified reason. Leave under the FMLA is unpaid. However, may we require employees to concurrently exhaust any earned but unused vacation time that they may have accumulated?

How should we handle inquiries about age that we need to conduct background checks?

04/15/2010
Q. We require all applicants to complete a pre-employment screening form that asks for their date of birth. The firm that conducts our background checks needs that information to perform the screening. Does this practice run afoul of laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of age?

Include an extension clause in your noncompete agreements

04/15/2010
In the wake of a recent Illinois court decision in Citadel Investment Group, LLC v. Teza Technologies LLC, employers should rethink their noncompete agreements. Without fine tuning, these contracts may not work as well as they could.

EEOC sues ambulance service for sexual harassment

04/15/2010

The EEOC has filed suit against a Chicago ambulance service, alleging that a supervisor often made off-color remarks to female employees and, on at least one occasion, demanded sexual favors in return for a raise. Several women who worked for Jay Medcar Transportation complained of the behavior, but the EEOC alleges the company never investigated any of the charges.

Nurses settle wage-fixing complaint with Chicago hospitals

04/15/2010

In a case that could have a ripple effect in four other states, Illinois nurses have settled a lawsuit that claimed Chicago-area hospitals colluded to depress wages in violation of antitrust laws. Nurse Alliance, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, has filed similar lawsuits against hospitals in Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Texas.