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Employment Law

Election ’08: What you need to know about what workers think

05/06/2008
Election year politics has a strange way of focusing employers and employees on the larger issues—such as jobs, wages and the economy. HR pros should pay attention to election year buzz. Knowing what’s on employees’ minds as they go to the polls can help savvy employers get a glimpse of the future workplace.

Ensure FLSA exemption is for actual job—Not theoretical one

05/06/2008
When it comes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers can’t afford to make classification mistakes. Only exempt employees lose out on overtime when they work more than 40 hours per week. The U.S. Department of Labor—and courts—strictly interpret what constitutes exempt work and what does not …

Worker quit voluntarily? Don’t rule out discrimination suit

05/06/2008
Employees who quit generally can’t sue for discrimination—unless they can show that they were essentially forced out because conditions were intolerable. But don’t think simply accepting an employee’s resignation note lets the company entirely off the hook …

Punitive damages based on staff size at time of discrimination

05/06/2008
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act caps how much employers have to pay for everything except back wages in discrimination cases. The limits on punitive damages depend on how many employees the company has. Now a federal court has clarified a fine point—the employee number that counts is how many employees the company had in the year the discrimination took place …

Déjà vu: Fresh act of discrimination may revive old complaints

05/06/2008
Generally, employees have to file discrimination lawsuits soon after an adverse employment decision or act of harassment. But sometimes employees can go far back in time if they can tie a recent event to past events. If that happens, a jury may get to hear a litany of complaints, each adding weight to the other …

HR decision doesn’t have to be perfect—Just honest

05/06/2008
Sometimes, even the best HR professionals may feel paralyzed when faced with a major employee discipline decision, such as whether an employee should be fired. They hedge and keep asking supervisors questions, or keep an investigation open to get more information. If this sounds like your HR office when dealing with a discrimination complaint, relax …

Log ADA requests and start interactive accommodations process right away

05/06/2008
The ADA requires an employer that has reason to believe an employee wants an accommodation to begin an interactive accommodations process. Ignoring an accommodation request is dangerous. Instead, set up a process that logs all requests and puts the matter on the fast track to resolution …

Stay out of court by giving copies of arbitration agreements to employees

05/06/2008
If you aren’t careful, arbitration agreements can leave your company paying more, not less. That can happen when employees file a federal lawsuit regardless of an agreement requiring arbitration. Then the court has to decide whether the arbitration agreement is valid …

Sometimes an apology is all it takes

05/06/2008
Jack Burghardt, an administrative support assistant in the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office, said he meant no offense when he asked two Hispanic co-workers how much it costs their “people to get across the border these days.” His boss felt the comment had racial overtones and suspended Burghardt for four days …

McDonald’s pays half a million for harassing teens

05/06/2008
McDonald’s will pay more than $505,000 to four former workers who won a lawsuit in which they charged the manager of a Durango store with harassment. A lawyer for two of the victims said the girls did not pursue criminal charges because they feared they would be revictimized in the process …