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Employment Law

How should we handle time off for workers who are emergency volunteers?

12/04/2008

Q. Several employees at our manufacturing facility on the coast are volunteer firefighters and medics. What obligations do we have to those employees who have to miss work to respond to a hurricane or other emergencies?

Can we charge higher premiums for smokers’ health insurance?

12/04/2008

Q. I know North Carolina has a smokers’ rights law. Does this law, or any other law, prevent our company from charging smokers and nonsmokers different group health insurance premiums?

Track attitude if it’s a performance criterion

12/04/2008

Before you use attitude as one of the reasons for rewarding one employee over another, consider how you will defend that decision if another employee thinks it was based on discrimination. Here’s how to use attitude as a decision factor.

Don’t delay paperwork for FMLA leave

12/04/2008

Act fast if you require employees to furnish medical certification for requested time off. Delaying sending the forms may in itself constitute interference with an employee’s right to take FMLA leave.

DOL issues new FMLA rules; time to review your policies

12/04/2008

On Nov. 17, the DOL finalized the first major overhaul of FMLA regulations in 15 years. Some changes favor employers; others will make FMLA compliance trickier than ever. They will require changes to your policies.

Your rules can protect against retaliation—make sure managers follow them

12/04/2008

When jurors hear that a company has a clear set of disciplinary rules but made an exception in the case of someone who just filed an EEOC or internal discrimination claim, they may jump to the conclusion retaliation occurred.

Track managers’ deviation from rules to ensure there’s no hidden discrimination

12/04/2008

Here’s a problem you might never see coming: A supervisor who harbors resentment against a subordinate because of her protected classification decides to hold her to the letter of the law when it comes to a benefit such as FMLA leave. Meanwhile, other employees get preferential treatment, such as additional unpaid leave after their FMLA leave expires …

Posting openings, tracking all applications discourage frivolous discrimination lawsuits

12/04/2008

Employers that post job openings and then track the response they get to their advertisements will discourage frivolous lawsuits. Would-be applicants can’t say they tried to apply or were discouraged from doing so because of discrimination if the company can show how it routinely handles all job openings and applications.

Log performance problems and deficiencies … just in case

12/04/2008

You never know which employee is going to sue you over a lost promotion, poor evaluation or other perceived slight. That’s why you should always keep careful track of all work deficiencies and document what role they played in every employment decision.

Federal employment: Training in how to complain pays off

12/04/2008

Smart employers make sure their employees know the rules by providing information several ways.