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Employment Law

What counts as a true meal break?

11/04/2009

Q. Sometimes we hold important meetings at lunch and provide food. An employee then takes her lunch hour after. Can we tell her she can’t do that?

Sears pays $6.2 million in record-setting ADA class-action settlement case

11/03/2009

Sears agreed last month to a $6.2 million settlement with the EEOC over charges that it violated the ADA. This is the largest ADA settlement in a single lawsuit in ADA history.

Families of veterans, service members get new FMLA rights

11/03/2009

You wouldn’t think a Pentagon budget bill would affect HR, but the 2010 Department of Defense appropriations law does—by expanding the military family leave amendments to the FMLA that were enacted last year. The legislation provided two new kinds of leave for employees with close relatives serving on active duty in the armed forces:

Does an employee’s bankruptcy affect whether we can terminate him?

11/02/2009

Q. I recently discovered that an employee who handles my company’s accounts receivable has filed for bankruptcy. Can I discharge this employee?

‘No texting while driving,’ Obama tells federal staff, as more states outlaw texting for all drivers

11/02/2009

President Obama last month signed an executive order that directs federal employees “not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles; when using electronic equipment supplied by the government while driving; or while driving privately owned vehicles when they’re on official government business.”

Sudden retirement? Watch for age bias lawsuit

11/02/2009

Older employees who believe a supervisor is trying to get rid of them because they’re too old can voluntarily retire—and then turn around and sue their former employer. By citing the so-called constructive discharge theory, they can show they had no choice but to quit.

Use clear criteria to ensure bias-free hiring

11/02/2009

Judges rarely second-guess the decisions of employers that use reasonable methods to hire or promote the best candidates. By using objective criteria and documenting the selection process, savvy employers win most cases.

Know the leave factors to consider when the FMLA and the ADA might both apply

11/02/2009

Many employers believe that if an employee needs accommodations for a disability that’s related to the same serious health condition covered by the FMLA, they don’t have to provide any additional leave once the employee has used 12 weeks of FMLA leave. That’s not always true. In fact, additional unpaid leave after FMLA leave has been exhausted may be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

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

11/02/2009

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) makes it illegal to base unequal pay on gender. Employees have up to three years to sue after the last allegedly discriminatory paycheck if their employer’s violation was “willful,” and two years if it was not. Unfortunately, any obvious wage disparity is probably willful.

Beware promises about schedules, retention that could create an employment contract

11/02/2009

Texas is an at-will employment state, which means employers are free to fire employees for any nondiscriminatory reason unless an employment agreement or union contract specifically says otherwise. But what if an employer promises an employee a better schedule or that she’ll be retained for a specific period of time? Does that create a contract, thus jeopardizing at-will status?