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Employment Law

Farash Corp. faces harassment suit over execs’ comments

04/28/2008
A former executive assistant for Farash Corp. is suing the Rochester-based real estate company for sexual harassment. Susan Poulter claims she was fired without warning in June 2006, four months after she complained about inappropriate comments allegedly made by male executives …

Appeals court dumps Wyeth whistle-Blower’s claim

04/28/2008
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a whistle-blower claim by Mark Livingston, a former training director at the Sanford, N.C., facility of the drug maker Wyeth …

Nine years later, Prudential settlement not quite settled

04/28/2008
In 1999, Linda Guyden, a former vice president for Prudential Insurance Company in Newark, and 358 other employees received a $10 million settlement for race discrimination and related claims against the company. Then, in 2000, Guyden filed a separate federal lawsuit based on her complaint …

New religious discrimination legislation expands NJLAD

04/28/2008
Employers, take notice: A new type of accommodation is required in New Jersey. Gov. Jon S. Corzine has signed into law an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) that makes it unlawful to discriminate against an employee because of a sincerely held religious practice or observance …

Seeking more information so employers can plan around intermittent FMLA leave

04/28/2008
Q. I’ve required employees seeking FMLA leave to have their doctors fill out the DOL’s medical certification form. Too often, though, the information I get from doctors is too vague to be much help. Is there any way I can get more detail in these forms? …

Lawsuit and agency investigation at same time?

04/28/2008
Q. Can an employee sue us in the New Jersey Superior Court for the same alleged discrimination still pending before the Division on Civil Rights? …

Don’t let FMLA status keep you from firing lousy employee

04/25/2008
There’s a common misconception out there that says that employers can’t fire employees who have recently taken or need to take FMLA leave. Nothing is further from the truth—if you go through the trouble of carefully documenting workplace deficiencies …

Do you discipline for age-Related remarks? You should

04/25/2008
A supervisor who makes rude or obnoxious comments about his subordinates’ ages might wind up causing an age discrimination lawsuit. That’s one reason you should take seriously all complaints about inappropriate comments—and discipline supervisors who think age is something to joke about …

It’s up to the employee to explain religious objections

04/25/2008
Good news for employers: You aren’t required to be religiously clairvoyant when it comes to accommodating religious beliefs. Although Title VII says employers must reasonably accommodate religious beliefs that conflict with job requirements, it is the employee who is responsible for explaining exactly how her religion conflicts with some aspect of the job …

Serial complainer? She probably can’t show retaliation

04/25/2008
Employees who file discrimination complaints can claim retaliation if they can show that their employers took actions that would dissuade reasonable employees from complaining in the first place. But employees who constantly file complaints probably won’t be able to show retaliation for all but the most egregious punishments. Here’s why …