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Employment Law

Put a lid on workplace trash talk that demeans women

05/12/2008
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has just expanded employee rights in alleged sexual harassment cases. The court has ruled that sexually explicit language that tends to demean women can be the basis of a sexual harassment and hostile work environment claim even if the language is not aimed at a particular woman …

Investigating sexual harassment? Ask victim whether she’s told HR everything

05/12/2008
Sexual harassment investigations can be embarrassing for everyone, including the alleged victim. But in order to conduct a fair and impartial investigation, HR must know exactly what happened. You don’t want to get part of the story, only to find out later that there was more …

Track all discipline so you can show harsh punishment wasn’t retaliation

05/12/2008
The easiest way for an employee to win a discrimination lawsuit is to complain about discrimination and then sit back and wait for a supervisor or manager to retaliate. That’s why it’s so important for HR to keep track of discrimination complaints and disciplinary actions …

Jury awards $5.8 million verdict for age discrimination

05/12/2008
A former employee of Ernie Haire Ford who claimed the dealership fired him because of his age won a $5.8 million verdict in Hillsborough Circuit Court …

BJ’s warehouse store settles $100K discrimination suit

05/12/2008
BJ’s Wholesale Club will pay $100,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit. The manager of the company’s Homestead store, who is Cuban-American, allegedly subjected a black employee and a Puerto Rican employee to numerous racial slurs …

Here’s a tip: Know law on paying employees who work for tips

05/12/2008
Hundreds of thousands of Floridians rely on tips for part of their incomes. To stay on the right side of wage-and-hour laws, their employers need to understand the somewhat tricky interplay of tip income and the minimum wage …

Don’t consider pending lawsuits when making hiring decisions

05/09/2008
Don’t bar former employees who have sued the company from applying and being hired for new jobs. Doing so almost certainly invites a retaliation lawsuit—one that courts are likely to find in favor of the former employee.

Three-Day FMLA incapacity can span regular days off

05/09/2008
Employees who claim they qualify for FMLA leave because of a short illness have to show that they went to a doctor and were incapacitated for three days. But the three days don’t have to be workdays—they can include days off …

Sexist remarks plus denied opportunities can add up to a hostile environment

05/09/2008
Supervisors may subject their employers to hostile-environment liability if they make snide comments that can be interpreted as anti-female and then deny even minor opportunities for a woman to do the job she was hired to perform. It’s a case of many small indignities adding up to sex discrimination …

SEIU accused of attack at Dearborn conference

05/09/2008
Officials of the California Nurses Association (CNA) have sought a restraining order against members of rival Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in the wake of an attack at a labor conference in Dearborn in April …