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Employment Law

‘Donning and doffing’ remains FLSA flashpoint

11/20/2009

Employers, beware if you don’t stay on top of the intricacies of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The fact is, the law is still developing and employers that don’t keep up will be caught. Consider the following case involving the seemingly old question of “donning and doffing” clothing and gear before and after clocking in:

U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear California sex harassment case

11/20/2009

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Court of Appeal of California decision upholding a reduction of the punitive damages awarded to a former supermarket employee in a sexual harassment case.

Dozing at the desk? Sleepy on the shop floor? You may need to offer ADA accommodations

11/20/2009

Some disabilities require the use of medications with side effects. If one of those is sleepiness and fatigue, employers may have to accommodate those. That’s why it’s crucial for you to begin the interactive process as soon as you learn that an employee is having trouble because of the medication he uses. The worst thing you can do is to simply terminate him because he nodded off.

FEHA allows terminating pregnant employee if there is absolutely no way to accommodate

11/20/2009

Pregnant employees are protected from discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). That means employers have an obligation to reasonably accommodate pregnant employees so they can continue to perform the essential functions of their jobs. But that obligation has limits, as the following case shows.

Outsourcing payroll? Be sure someone can explain the math

11/20/2009

These days, with employers having to do more with less, lots of companies outsource some functions that take a lot of time. If a vendor handles your payroll, make sure someone on the inside understands exactly how the outside provider calculates tricky things like overtime pay.

No day at the spa: Union-owned resort to close

11/20/2009

The Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa, a Kelseyville resort owned by Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 38, will close. The announcement came two years after Local 38 agreed to sell the resort under a DOL consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to settle charges that the union diverted $36 million from pension plans to operate and renovate Konocti.

Courts: Shady deals are more legit than blackmail?

11/20/2009

Think you got the goods on your boss? Don’t count on profiting from it, as the following case shows:

ADA case: More prima donna than prima facie at hotel?

11/20/2009

Hotel banquet captain Richard Robinson claimed to suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and several physical impairments. He asked his employer, the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick, to accommodate the myriad maladies …

Injured on the way to work: Does our employee have a workers’ comp claim?

11/20/2009

Q. One of our employees was hurt while driving a company car on her morning commute to work. Would this be considered a workers’ compensation claim?

Why is workers’ comp telling us when our employee’s FMLA leave should start?

11/20/2009

Q. An employee took FMLA leave Sept. 1 because of job stress. In October, she had an operation for carpal tunnel syndrome. Workers’ comp ruled that her absence was work-related and it dated her workers’ comp claim back to Sept. 3. So, they’re now saying that her FMLA leave won’t start until she is officially released from workers’ comp. Do we need to keep a job open indefinitely for her?