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Employment Law

Check your records! Some old pay-bias cases get new life under Ledbetter law

12/15/2009

When President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act nearly a year ago, some employees got an additional chance to press their pay discrimination claims. That’s because the new law covers Equal Pay Act claims pending at the EEOC or in federal court as of May 28, 2007. Tip: If you haven’t already done so, now’s the time to review your compensation program to check for hidden sex bias.

Same title doesn’t make employees equally qualified

12/15/2009

Some employees believe they should be considered for a promotion just because they have the same job title as another employee being considered. But that’s not the case if the employees have different experience levels. For example, recent retirees may take entry-level jobs for which they are “overqualified.” When a promotion opportunity opens, their employer may be eager to use their talents more fully.

Design restrictive agreements that protect you—and stick in court

12/15/2009

Do you rely on restrictive agreements (also known as noncompete agreements) to prevent employees from working for the competition and stealing your customers? If so, now is a good time to make sure those agreements will stand up in court.
A recent 11th Circuit Court of Appeals case, Proudfoot Consulting Co. v. Gordon, illustrates the obstacles and complexity that can trip up employers that take former employees to court.

Supreme Court to decide: Are employees’ personal text messages private?

12/15/2009

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case that could settle the contentious issue of whether employers have a right to read personal text messages employees send using employer-provided equipment and bandwidth. It’s yet another bump in the evolving landscape of employee use of technology at work (the topic, by the way, of this week’s HR Specialist webinar, "Employees Online: Social Media at Work").

$118 million doesn’t begin to cover Broadcom scheme costs

12/15/2009

If you’ve ever been involved in litigation, you know that lawsuits can be complicated and costly affairs. Your case undoubtedly pales in comparison to one about to be resolved in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. About the best that can be said for the case, involving an alleged stock-options backdating scheme at semiconductor maker Broadcom Corp., is that the lawyers will be well paid.

How to ensure settlements are the last word: Ask lawyer to draft all agreements

12/15/2009

The last thing you want after settling a discrimination or harassment complaint is for the case to rear its ugly head again. That’s why settlement agreements should include clear language releasing you—the employer—from any further liability. Your best bet: Have your attorney prepare all your settlement agreements to make sure they meet state and federal laws.

Check your pay rates! Obvious male/female disparity is probably ‘willful’ discrimination

12/14/2009

The Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to base unequal pay on gender. If an employee can show that a violation was “willful,” she has up to three years to sue after the last allegedly discriminatory paycheck; only two years if it’s not willful. Heads up: Courts will probably call any obvious wage disparity a “willful” violation.

Congress is considering five paid sick days for H1N1 exiles

12/11/2009

H.R. 3991 would guarantee workers with contagious diseases, such as the H1N1 flu virus, up to five paid sick days if their employer “directs” or “advises” them to stay home or go home due to the illness.

Remind supervisors: Don’t assume disability

12/11/2009

An employer that assumes an employee is disabled and then fires him or even just treats him differently than other employees may end up with an ADA lawsuit. That’s because the employee may not actually be disabled—but can still sue for disability discrimination based on the employer’s presumption that he is.

Be on guard against sexist hostile environment

12/11/2009

When we think of a hostile work environment based on sex, we often assume an overtly sexualized workplace. Transgressions such as viewing porn, posting lurid photos on cubicle walls and demanding sexual favors are clearly sexual in nature. But those aren’t the only things that can make an environment sexually hostile. Employees can launch a claim of hostile environment if they can show they were forced to work in a sexist environment.