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Employment Law

How to trigger discrimination lawsuit: Strip job duties, create miserable conditions

04/16/2019
A lawsuit may be justified when an employer strips someone’s job duties and relegates them to performing menial tasks in worse conditions than others have to endure.

Reasonable accommodation offered and refused? You have met your ADA obligations

04/16/2019
If it’s clear there’s no reasonable accommodation that will allow the worker to perform his present job, then the employer is free to offer another position he can perform, even if it pays less. If the worker refuses the offer, then he has ended the interactive process.

Know when more ‘ADA leave’ is unreasonable

04/16/2019
Time off can be a reasonable ADA accommodation. But it’s not reasonable to grant leave if it won’t help the worker return to work on a regular basis, when her presence is essential.

EEOC’s harassment reporting systems checklist

04/16/2019
According to the EEOC, a responsive sexual harassment complaint reporting system is one of the best tools employers have for addressing harassment at work.

EEOC charges down, harassment claims jump

04/16/2019
The #MeToo movement reached the EEOC in a big way last year. Even as total EEOC charges declined dramatically in fiscal year 2018, sexual harassment charges soared.

Beware close timing between FMLA leave and discipline

04/15/2019
The closer a termination comes to the end of a worker’s FMLA leave, the more likely she may win an FMLA-retaliation lawsuit.

Consistency is key when deciding how to discipline for excessive medical absences

04/15/2019
Employers don’t have to keep disabled employees on the payroll after they have exhausted all available leave and received a reasonable accommodation of taking more time off. That doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily pick and choose which employees you discharge.

Warning letter doesn’t count as retaliation

04/15/2019
Retaliation must include an adverse employment action such as termination, demotion or some other substantial and negative action like transfer to an undesirable shift. A mere letter of warning doesn’t rise to the required level of adversity.

Experience is a great teacher, but it’s not pay

04/11/2019
If you plan to welcome unpaid interns to your organization this summer, be careful. If they receive any benefits beyond educational credit, some states may consider them to be employees. Thus, they would be covered by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

How much leave do we have to grant for bone marrow donation? Must it be paid leave?

04/10/2019
Q. One of my employees plans to donate bone marrow. She will need to take time off for this purpose. How much time can she take off? Must it be paid, even though the decision to donate was not due to her own medical condition?