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Employment Law

New DOT rule means taking a real close look at drug tests

09/08/2009

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) changed its regulations for drug testing to include direct observation of return-to-duty and follow-up drug tests. DOT regulations require random drug testing of urine for commercial motor-vehicle drivers, and pipeline, airline, transit and marine employees.

Get it in writing! You need consistent, persistent documentation

09/08/2009

If I had to boil employment law into one overarching maxim, it would be this: Be fair and document everything, in case someone thinks you’re not being fair. If you doubt the importance of thorough documentation, consider two recent cases decided by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

What’s my legal liability when a customer harasses my employee?

09/08/2009

Q. I own a themed restaurant where some employees dress in costumes to entertain the children. Last week, an employee complained that a “regular” grabbed her breasts through her mouse costume. Am I correct that I don’t have any responsibility because the groper wasn’t one of my employees?

Am I permitted to communicate directly with employees’ medical professionals?

09/08/2009

If an employee’s FMLA medical certification is incomplete (required information is omitted) or insufficient (the information provided is vague, ambiguous or nonresponsive), an employer is now entitled to request additional information directly from the employee’s health care provider, subject to certain key limitations.

What can I do about an employee who refuses to work mandatory overtime?

09/08/2009

Q. Despite the recession, my business is going gangbusters. Instead of having to lay off people, I’m in the position of having to schedule lots of overtime. I have one employee, though, who is balking at having to work more than 40 hours a week. He’s really hurting my production. Do I have any recourse against this employee for refusing overtime?

Recession ‘how-to’: Cutting exempt employee pay, hours

09/08/2009

As the recession drags on, many employers have begun trimming compensation. If you plan to cut pay for exempt employees, do so with care. Handle it wrong, and you could run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law governing wage-and-hour practices. The worst-case: Cutting pay and hours could turn exempt employees into nonexempt hourly workers.

Tell bosses to tell staff: No working lunches!

09/08/2009

Like most employers, you probably have a rule that tells nonexempt employees they must take their meal breaks. The rule is there to prevent FLSA violations for uncompensated work. But having the rule isn’t always enough—especially if some of your supervisors encourage employees to work during their breaks or turn a blind eye when they do.

Retaliation applies to former employees, too

09/08/2009

Here’s a potential trap you may not have considered: Punishing a former employee may be retaliation, too. That means that you must carefully consider anything you do involving a former employee before you act.

Of good faith and gut instinct: Fire employee who falsely claims discrimination

09/08/2009

It’s frustrating when an employee continually claims to be the victim of discrimination while internal investigations show that just isn’t so. If an employer is confident the employee’s charges are false, it can terminate the employee. That’s true even if you turn out to be wrong—because what matters is your good-faith belief that the employee made up the discrimination claims.

How to show you don’t discriminate: Track all discipline and punish equitably

09/08/2009

At some point, a former employee will sue your organization for discrimination. The typical argument: Someone not in the same protected class as the employee was treated more leniently. How will you show that’s not true?