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Employment Law

Should we give reviews to independent contractors?

05/01/2007

Q. We have several independent contractors working at our company, as well as many regular employees. We give performance reviews to regular employees, but not the independent contractors. Should we?—M.L., California

Complying with the no-Docking rules

05/01/2007

Q. We are a small company with fewer than 20 employees. While I understand the issue of paying exempt employees full salary and docking from the PTO banks when they’re absent, is there someplace that I can go to get an example of a company policy to support a 40-hour-per-week effort from each employee?—E.R., Virginia

Employee can’t take FMLA leave for jail time

05/01/2007

Q. Does the FMLA apply to employees who are in jail, too?—A.B., Texas

Watch calendar to keep clear of intermittent-Leave trap

05/01/2007

Employees who have serious health conditions may be eligible for intermittent leave, and their eligibility is determined once per eligibility year …

It pays to hear both sides of the story before a firing

05/01/2007

If your organization is like many, someone in HR ultimately decides whether to terminate an employee for poor performance based on supervisor recommendations and supporting documents, such as performance reviews. That can spell trouble if there’s more going on than meets the eye ...

Civility helps prevent a hostile environment, but you don’t need to sweat the small stuff

05/01/2007

You’ve told your first-line supervisors over and over again that crude language, insults and worse have no place in the workplace. But now an employee has filed a complaint, alleging her supervisor’s “insults” have created a hostile work environment …

One more thing to worry about: Add ‘Unjust enrichment’ to list of labor claims

05/01/2007

Recently, attorneys have added “unjust enrichment” to the growing list of legal claims lobbed at employers. Simply put, employers who receive a benefit from an employee can be sued if the employer’s retention of that benefit is inequitable …

Failing to ask for 2nd and 3rd medical certs doesn’t bar later challenge to FMLA eligibility

05/01/2007

Under the FMLA, employers who don’t ask for a second or third certification of an employee’s serious health condition aren’t forever barred from challenging the employee’s condition, as a recent Michigan case shows ...

Tell managers: Keep unsolicited dietary advice to yourself

05/01/2007

Michigan has one of the toughest weight discrimination laws in the country—a law that can trip up supervisors who innocently offer diet tips. It’s crucial to train management staff to recognize that discussion concerning an employee’s weight is off-limits …

Even Years Later, ‘Getting Even’ Can Still Be Retaliation

05/01/2007

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to retaliate against employees who complain about discrimination. Ordinarily, employees must show a strong time-related connection between their initial complaint and the alleged retaliation. However, employees can file years later if they can show that the individual who allegedly retaliated waited until he was in a position to order a payback …