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Employment Law

AWOL employee loses case involving absenteeism

04/01/2008
Rosa Luera worked as a medical records clerk and file technician at The Heart Center Medical Group in Fort Wayne. Luera’s attendance continued to decline—until one day, she simply stopped showing up for work. In June 2006, she was terminated. Luera sued, claiming discrimination and retaliation …

New Indiana law means no more crying over expressed milk

04/01/2008
Indiana is about to join 14 other states that already have enacted laws to support breastfeeding women by protecting their right to express milk in the workplace. Starting July 1, 2008, Indiana companies that employ at least 25 workers will be required to provide certain basic facilities for women to express breast milk during the working day …

Maternity leave for small employers

04/01/2008
Q. We are a small not-for-profit organization with eight full-time and 20 (give or take) part-time employees. One of our full-time employees is asking about maternity leave. We currently do not have a policy in place for maternity leave. What are our options? …

Build a legal wall against the flood of retaliation lawsuits

04/01/2008
Retaliation lawsuits are all the rage among employees (and their lawyers) these days. Employees filed 26,663 complaints of retaliation with the EEOC in 2007, up 18% from the previous year. One key reason is the landmark U.S. Supreme Court 2006 ruling in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White …

From singles to prayer groups: Legal risks of affinity clubs

04/01/2008
Veterans … gays … singles … Christians … new employees. For years, employees with common interests or characteristics have been banding together in lunch or after-work groups—typically with their employers’ blessing and support. These so-called affinity or support groups are a natural extension of workplace diversity. Now, however, more employers are realizing the potential risks of supporting these groups …

Retaliation: The legal risk of ‘getting back’ at employees

04/01/2008
Most managers know that it’s against the law to discriminate against employees and applicants because of their race, gender, age, religion or disability. But you may not know that those same federal laws also make it illegal for employers and supervisors to retaliate in any way against employees who voice complaints about on-the-job discrimination.

Check for not so obvious patterns of race discrimination

04/01/2008
Lots of employees try to blame lost jobs or promotions on discrimination. To do so, they assign themselves into protected classes that may not seem at all obvious. For example, a black employee who obviously hasn’t been discriminated against because he is black may add national origin to the mix …

Employees can sign away past FMLA violations in Pennsylvania

04/01/2008
The U.S. Labor Department has announced it plans to update FMLA regulations. The proposed regulations make it clear that employees will be able to settle past FMLA violation claims. Now a recent case spells out under what circumstances a release will be contractually and legally binding …

Automate application system to end failure-to-promote claims

04/01/2008

If you want to avoid needless failure-to-promote claims, create an automatic application process, and make sure managers and all employees understand how the new system works. If everyone knows there is one specific way to apply—indeed, the only way to apply—employees can’t make discrimination claims …

Track declining productivity to justify staffing, pay and promotion decisions

04/01/2008
Part-time employees are often the first to get pink slips in an economic downturn. But watch out if your part-timers are disproportionately parents who have child care responsibilities. Don’t be surprised if those employees respond to a layoff by contacting an attorney …