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Arizona

Justify drug testing program with business-Related rationale

04/18/2008

Many government employers ask applicants to submit to drug testing before beginning work. A recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling may make employers rethink that strategy and prepare to clearly articulate a business-related reason for drug tests. A blanket testing policy may spell trouble …

Lack of female supervisors a red flag for discrimination

04/18/2008

Have you taken a good look at who fills supervisory roles at your workplace? If not, you should. Having very few female supervisors may spell trouble. Having none is like carrying a sign that reads, “Sue me now!” Employees suing for sex discrimination could point to the lack of female supervisors as evidence supporting their claims …

Degree of control changes status from contractor to employee

04/01/2008

More and more courts are ignoring the labels companies and independent contractors put on their relationships—and even rewriting the relationship in some cases. That means that someone an organization has carried on the books as an independent contractor can be reclassified as an employee …

Directors and volunteers don’t count as employees

03/01/2008

The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) covers employers with 20 or more employees. Pretty clear, right? But whom you count is crucial, especially if your head count is right on the cusp of the ADA or ADEA threshold …

Shots for unionized med workers subject to bargaining

02/01/2008

Lately, the Centers for Disease Control regularly warns about the danger of the next super bug or pandemic flu outbreak. That’s one reason it’s no surprise that health care facilities want to inoculate staff against contagious illnesses. But in a union environment, it may not be enough to simply order employees to get shots …

Union fails to pursue grievance? That’s its problem

01/01/2008

If an employee’s union rep doesn’t file a grievance and your organization later fires the employee based on an incident that could have been the subject of the grievance, the union is most likely on the hook for any damages …

‘Blacklisting’ for prior EEOC complaints may be retaliation

12/01/2007

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act outlaws retaliation against applicants or employees because they have filed EEOC complaints or participated in EEOC proceedings. But that prohibition applies equally to EEOC complaints that job applicants may have filed against other employers. In other words, “blacklisting” an applicant because you know she filed an EEOC complaint against another employer is illegal retaliation …

If nothing else, you can demand employee honesty

11/01/2007

Do you detect a certain reluctance by employees to cooperate when investigators are trying to do their jobs and get to the bottom of employment problems? Then it may be time to remind employees that you expect honest and forthright cooperation, and nothing less. Then, go ahead and discipline employees who don’t cooperate …

Satellite offices may not count for WARN layoff notice

11/01/2007

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice before a plant closing or a mass layoff involving 50 or more employees at a “single site of employment.” Employees have tried to argue that satellite offices should be included to determine if WARN notification was due …

Retirement math must comply with PDA, Title VII—For now

10/01/2007

Can employees sue for a company practice that was perfectly lawful when it was implemented but has since become illegal? Yes, according to a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case in which employees complained that a company policy didn’t give them full-service credit toward their retirement benefits during their pregnancy leave …