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Employment Law

Echoes of Virginia Tech

07/01/2007

In a disturbing case of copycat thinking, a Suffolk County Community College employee told his supervisor during an argument, “If I get one more write-up, if you think they had a problem in Virginia, it’ll be worse here.” …

Pioneering female firefighter loses discrimination suit

07/01/2007

One of the 11 female firefighters who broke the Fire Department of New York’s gender barrier in 1982 lost a $10 million discrimination suit against the department …

Protecting employment tests from legal challenges

07/01/2007

Employers use a wide variety of tests to determine whether job applicants can perform the jobs they seek. The tests usually measure the candidates’ knowledge, skills and abilities. But if tests cover anything other than the employee’s ability to perform the job’s essential functions, employers could find themselves defending the tests in court …

Tell managers: Don’t require employees to speak English

07/01/2007

Warn managers and supervisors: It’s dangerous to demand that employees speak English at work! The EEOC sees restrictive English-only policies as possible national origin discrimination. What’s more, the National Labor Relations Board views such policies as possible unfair labor practices if the restriction limits the ability of employees to discuss work conditions …

‘Spiffs’ don’t count when establishing overtime exemption

07/01/2007

If you have an incentive system in which employees who sell a particular item get an additional set payment—commonly called a “spiff”—on top of other payments for selling the item, you can’t count the spiff as part of the commission …

Business as usual still the rule after employee complains

07/01/2007

Has an employee filed an EEOC discrimination complaint? If so, you should know that his or her attorney has probably encouraged that employee to look for any sign of retaliation—like a lowered performance evaluation, a demotion or closer scrutiny. Often, attorneys want to bolster their clients’ claims with tales of retribution. That doesn’t mean you should change the way you treat the employee …

You don’t necessarily have to pay for pre-Work activities

07/01/2007

Employers have struggled to figure out exactly when they must pay employees for pre-work activities ever since the U. S. Supreme Court decided that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires paying workers for the time they spend putting on protective clothing. It’s not enough to say that the time must be of benefit to the employer …

To be safe, always double-Check supervisor’s allegations

07/01/2007

When it comes to discharging an employee, be careful not to simply accept a supervisor’s opinion of the employee’s performance. If the supervisor is effectively hiding an underlying problem with persons belonging to a protected class and you don’t check for yourself whether the employee deserves to lose the job, you may end up costing the company money …

No double recovery under federal and state law

07/01/2007

Good news for government employers: Employees who sue for discrimination under both the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act don’t get to collect double damages …

No, I’m not God; I just play him on the PA

07/01/2007

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport fired a skycap who broadcast an anti-gay message over the public address system around 1 am on May 1 …