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Employment Law

Can we require employees to get flu shots?

10/06/2009

Approximately 3 million doses of the vaccines designed to prevent the H1N1 flu virus—swine flu—shipped last week. Local health authorities are preparing to offer vaccines as early as this week. Can you—should you?—demand that your employees get flu shots?

What’s an ADA disability?…. And nine more questions you’d better be able to answer

10/06/2009

The EEOC has issued proposed regulations for enforcing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA), a sweeping law that took effect earlier this year. Among the changes: a new definition of what constitutes an ADA disability. With the EEOC in charge of suing to force compliance, you need to know the answers to these 10 questions.

What’s an ADA disability?…. And seven more questions you’d better be able to answer

10/06/2009

2009 was a watershed year for disability discrimination. The EEOC received a record number of disability-related charges – 21,451. What’s the reason for the spike in discrimination claims? The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendment Act. With the EEOC in charge of suing to force compliance, you need to know the answers to these eight questions.

Playing favorites: How to avoid unintended partiality in decisions, reviews

10/05/2009
Do you “play favorites” with certain employees? Most managers would probably say “no,” but people often harbor unconscious perceptions that can influence day-to-day decision-making and job reviews of the employees they manage. Several factors unrelated to employee performance can impact evaluations conducted by managers.

Seek attorney’s help on noncompete agreements

10/05/2009

It’s important to carefully tailor noncompete agreements, also known as covenants not to compete. Employers can prohibit employees from poaching customers, but it’s essential to have an attorney help you craft a covenant that will prevail in court.

Age bias nets almost $1 million for El Paso airport food manager

10/05/2009

A U.S. District Court jury in Texas has awarded $992,500 in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee of the company that provides food and beverage services for El Paso International Airport.

Texas Supreme Court: Limited employer liability for fatigue-related off-duty conduct

10/05/2009

In a much-watched case, the Texas Supreme Court has refused to expand employer liability for employee off-duty conduct. That’s good news for employers, which faced the possibility of greater liability had the court ruled differently.

Do you round off employee hours? Be sure to round both up and down

10/05/2009

Employers that round off the time on employees’ time sheets must do so in a way that doesn’t cheat hourly employees out of pay in the long run. That means that if you round down, you must also round up. Otherwise, your time records won’t reflect all hours worked, leading to potential violations of overtime and other wage-and-hour laws.

Tell employees they must report sexual harassment up chain of command

10/05/2009

Looking for a way to eliminate unfounded sexual harassment claims from former employees? One way is to make sure your sexual harassment policy tells employees to keep taking their harassment claims up the chain of command if they aren’t satisfied with the first response.

Nail down documentation before firing harassment complainant

10/05/2009

Sometimes, employers have to fire employees—even those who have recently filed successful discrimination complaints. Don’t be afraid to do so. You can beat a bogus retaliation claim by making sure you have good, solid documentation to substantiate the firing.