• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Use promotion panel to ensure one manager’s bias doesn’t taint entire process

03/13/2009

Sometimes, a supervisor or manager may favor a subordinate for a promotion because he shares some other relationship that has nothing to do with work. That doesn’t always mean there’s discrimination going on. Protect your organization by using a promotion panel to score and interview candidates. That way, you can root out any favoritism that could affect the promotions process.

Transfer—without penalty—won’t make a retaliation suit

03/13/2009

An employee who files a discrimination complaint is protected from retaliation. But that doesn’t mean employers can’t make everyday moves—such as transferring someone who once complained of bias—without risking a lawsuit.

Firing? Keep all communications between employee and boss

03/13/2009

Employees who have been terminated often claim they suffered some form of discrimination or harassment. That’s one good reason to tell managers and supervisors they need to keep each and every piece of paper, phone message and e-mail that led up to the firing.

Study cites Illinois as a hotbed of wage-and-hour claims

03/13/2009

A recent report offers some ominous news for Illinois employers. Illinois is one of eight states that saw an increase in class-action wage-and-hour cases filed in state court last year, according to the Seyfarth Shaw law firm’s new Workplace Class Action Litigation Report.

DOL: TMG National Holdings held onto too much

03/13/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against TMG National Holdings, a real estate development company based in Chicago, alleging it diverted funds intended for employee retirement benefits.

Movie production companies wrap up PDA suit for $75,000

03/13/2009

Two production companies for Will Ferrell’s movie Stranger than Fiction will pay a rejected job applicant who was pregnant $75,000 to compensate her for discrimination.

Social Security disability doesn’t mean no accommodations

03/13/2009

A federal court has sided with the EEOC in a disability discrimination case involving the Macomb store of auto parts retailer AutoZone. The case involved a store manager, John Shepherd, who suffered from back and neck injuries that limited his ability to lift or rotate his upper body.

Your FMLA obligation ends with forms and notice

03/12/2009

Employers have to let their employees know about the FMLA so they can take advantage of the leave guaranteed by the law. But if an employee doesn’t take advantage of his FMLA rights, the employer can’t be held liable for not providing leave even if it turns out the employee was eligible.

Courts crack down on FLSA collective actions

03/12/2009

For several years now, lawyers have been trying to create collective actions by finding one or two angry employees who think they were wrongly classified as exempt employees and therefore entitled to overtime pay. By pairing two or more cases, attorneys try to turn simple litigation into expensive collective-action claims. Now some federal judges are rethinking those cases—and it’s good news for employers.

Place employee on ‘provisional’ FMLA leave while seeking 2nd, 3rd certifications

03/12/2009

Employers don’t have to blindly accept their employees’ medical certifications. The FMLA allows you to get a second opinion about whether an employee’s request qualifies for leave … If the two certifications don’t agree, you can get a third and final certification to break the tie. But what happens during the interim?