Remind your managers: Contrary to popular belief, female employees don’t need to be pregnant to earn legal protections under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Even nonpregnant employees can sue. …
Don’t think that you can automatically swat away a pesky sexual-harassment suit by saying the complaining employee didn’t follow your complaint procedure to a “T.” Courts may let employees pursue their …
Q. As part of our new employees’ noncompete contracts, we’ve started including a clause that requires employees to repay the company (through payroll deduction) for training costs if they quit or are fired within one year. Are we OK legally? —S.M., Kentucky
Take extra time to review an employee’s eligibility and certification for FMLA leave at the time of the request, not later. As a new court ruling shows, employers who approve …
Buyer beware: If you don’t probe deeply into job candidates’ backgrounds, you’re in the minority these days. In fact, 80 percent of employers polled in a new Society for Human …
THE LAW. The U.S. Labor Depart-ment and each state government require employers to post certain employment-law information that ex-plains employees’ rights and responsibilities. You also must make sure your federal and …
Issue: Establishing quantifiable criteria for making hiring decisions. Risk: Applicants have an easier time winning hiring-bias lawsuits if they can point to weaknesses in your stated reasons for hiring. …
You’re legally protected if job candidates voluntarily spill the beans about their employers’ secrets, such as customer lists and manufacturing methods. But warn hiring managers to avoid asking questions aimed at …
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says union membership fell to 12.5 percent of all U.S. employees last year, down from 12.9 percent in 2003. That’s the lowest percentage of union …