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Employment Law

Beware retaliation against whistleblowers

09/12/2019
Think twice before disciplining or otherwise punishing an employee who has reported workplace wrongdoing. Whistleblower protection remains in force regardless of the merits of the employee’s allegations.

Snapshot: How many Americans are union members?

09/10/2019
2019 marks the second year in a row in which just 10% of Americans belong to a union.

ADA requires training accommodations, too

09/10/2019
The ADA requires employers to provide help to disabled applicants at every stage of the employment relationship if that assistance is reasonable. That includes adapting job training so disabled employees can learn how to perform their jobs.

Accommodate disabilities with more time off

09/05/2019
Do you have rules that limit time off to those who have accrued sick or vacation leave or are eligible for FMLA leave? If so, you should reconsider them.

Drywall company can’t paper over wage violations

09/04/2019
Rice Drywall has agreed to pay 558 employees $354,763 in back wages after investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the company misclassified employees as independent contractors.

Fort Worth beverage distributor resolves bias complaints

09/04/2019
A Fort Worth beverage distributor that is also a federal contractor agreed to pay $350,000 in back pay and interest to resolve charges it steered applicants into specific jobs based on their gender, race and ethnicity.

Failure to accommodate depression costs $75,000

09/04/2019
A Dallas-area defense contractor has agreed to settle charges it violated the ADA when it refused to accommodate an engineer’s depression.

Review prior complaints before terminating

09/04/2019
Before approving any recommendation to terminate a worker, review HR records to see if the worker has filed any discrimination or harassment complaints. Ensure the recommendation wasn’t motivated by retaliation.

How to prevent some class actions: Let local managers make compensation decisions

09/04/2019
Having a highly centralized pay and promotion system may make employers more vulnerable to class-action litigation. On the other hand, giving some pay and promotion authority to local managers and supervisors may prevent class actions.

New employee just isn’t working out? Document specific problems before firing

09/04/2019
Sometimes, you discover that an employee you or your predecessor hired simply isn’t qualified or capable of doing her job. Before you fire her, possibly triggering a lawsuit, take the time to document why she’s not working out.