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Employment Law

Be careful when altering pregnant worker’s pay

05/01/2000

Q. If a pregnant employee is salaried and is missing two days of work a week, can we legally make her an hourly employee? When the employee was hired, her contract should have been hourly. Is it legal to change the basis of her pay now? —C.H., Michigan

Don’t ask reference things you wouldn’t ask candidate

05/01/2000

Q. I know that it’s illegal to ask applicants certain questions, like whether they are married. Are there any questions I can’t ask a previous employer or reference? —F.T., Maine

Employee car accident may spell liability for company

05/01/2000

Q. An employee injured on the job recently was transported to the hospital by a co-worker. On the way back to work, they were in a car accident and both employees tested positive for illegal substances. What is our total liability? What can companies do to protect against this scenario? —T.K., Ohio

Check state law before asking about convictions

04/01/2000

Q. Our employment application asks whether the candidate has been convicted of a felony. Is it legal for us to ask this? If so, can we ask what the applicant has been convicted of and can that information be used as a basis for not hiring an individual? —C.H., Arizona

Don’t Ban Breast-Feeding if You Allow Baby at Work

04/01/2000

Q. Can we legally prohibit female workers from breast-feeding at work? —R.B., California

Older replacement won’t erase age bias claim

04/01/2000
After a financially strapped hospital turned over its collection and registration duties to an outside vendor, four female workers over age 40 lost …

Firing can’t masquerade as a one-person rif

04/01/2000
Elizabeth Bellaver, a manager at a manufacturing plant, consistently earned excellent job evaluations. But her supervisor noted problems with her …

‘Direct threat’ no longer required to bar former substance abusers

04/01/2000
After the 1989 Valdez oil spill cost it billions of dollars, Exxon tightened its policy on recovered substance abusers. It permanently removed any employee who had been …

To the winner goes … the loser’s legal bill

04/01/2000
Houston police officer David Garcia was denied a transfer to the city’s SWAT team even though his evaluations ranked higher than three of the four officers selected. One reason Garcia …

Failure to document disability nixes employee’s ADA protection

04/01/2000
When United Parcel Service (UPS) grounded pilot Gary Walsh, he agreed that he shouldn’t be flying. A recent car accident had affected his memory …