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Employment Law

Lawnside settles police dept. bias case for $350,000

01/25/2010

The Borough of Lawnside has agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a female police officer who alleged she began experiencing harassment and discrimination almost from Day 1.

Drafting an auto-use policy? Here’s a crash course

01/25/2010

If your employees travel on company business, use company cars or rent cars for business, make sure you have an auto-use policy that makes it clear that zany antics, such as one employee’s 600-mile detour to Dixie, fall outside the scope of employment …

Understand GINA’s new prohibitions on misuse of genetic info

01/25/2010

Interim final regulations implementing the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 are now in effect for group health care insurers with plan years beginning on or after Dec. 7, 2009. If you offer group health coverage, that means you must understand and comply with GINA’s anti-discrimination provisions relating to genetic information.

Your Best Defense: Prevention

01/22/2010

HR Law 101: When drugs don’t seem to present a problem in a workplace, it’s easy to develop a cavalier attitude about them. That’s not very smart. Drug abuse often begins with a single offender and then spreads out ­malignantly. Experts say your best defense is to detect drug abuse when it first appears and to root it out immediately …

Work restrictions? Seek job accommodations

01/22/2010

It can be frustrating and confusing to deal with a supposedly disabled employee. Because the ADA measures each individual’s disability by what he or she can’t do, employers can never be certain they’re in the right if they reject a disability claim. That’s one reason many employers conclude the safest approach is to make accommodations even if they aren’t entirely sure the employee is disabled.

Tell managers: No talk of hiring preferences

01/22/2010

As hard as it is to believe, some managers still think they can use sex or race as the reason to hire one qualified applicant instead of other qualified candidates. Of course, that’s wrong, and it could trigger a discrimination lawsuit if word gets out. That’s why you should remind everyone involved in the hiring process that his or her decision must be blind to personal characteristics.

Vanguard settles Charlotte race bias case for $300,000

01/22/2010

The financial services firm Vanguard Group has settled a racial discrimination complaint with the EEOC for $300,000. The case involved Barbara Alexander, a black applicant for a financial planning manager position at Vanguard’s Charlotte office.

When technological change means jobs are changing too, document the training you offer

01/22/2010

For years, one of the biggest drivers of improved worker productivity has been better technology in the workplace. But all that technological innovation means that employees who want to keep up must be open to training. How you handle that training can make a big difference when the time comes to lay off employees you no longer need because your company has become more efficient or whose skills have become obsolete.

OK to aggressively question suspected thieves—as long as your intent isn’t malicious

01/22/2010

Some employees are light-fingered, and it isn’t always easy to catch them stealing. Loss-prevention staff often presses hard when interviewing employees they suspect are pilfering. That’s appropriate, as is reporting the case to police. As the following case shows, aggressive questioning during an initial investigation doesn’t equal malicious intent.

Union contract doesn’t cover ‘donning and doffing’? You may not have to pay

01/22/2010

For many employers, it’s hard to imagine any advantage in having a union workplace, so this news may come as a bit of a surprise. At least under some limited circumstances, having a unionized workforce may protect some employers from FLSA lawsuits related to putting on and taking off protective gear before and after a shift.