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Employment Law

The 3 things NOT to say in your sexual-harassment policy

04/01/2005
Issue: The words you leave out of your sexual-harassment policy are as important as those you put in.
Risk: Imprecise, or too precise, wording can paint you into a corner …

Assist ailing employees without fear of triggering ADA

04/01/2005
Issue: Who is considered “disabled” under ADA’s definition?
Risk: Employees earn ADA protection if you regard them as disabled, even if their condition doesn’t rise to the law’s definition of …

Employees can’t cry ‘retaliation’ if they’re not eligible for leave

04/01/2005
Issue: Employees can sue for FMLA retaliation only if they’ve put in the minimum hours to become eligible for FMLA leave.
Benefit: Less risk of first-year employees winning FMLA-retaliation suits. …

Where your religious-accommodation responsibilities stop

04/01/2005
Issue: How far must you go to oblige an employee’s religious practices under federal job-discrimination law?
Benefit: A new ruling says that you don’t need to accommodate religious requests when …

Warn managers not to hire on ‘gut instinct’ alone

04/01/2005
Issue: Establishing quantifiable criteria for making hiring decisions.
Risk: Applicants have an easier time winning hiring-bias lawsuits if they can point to weaknesses in your stated reasons for hiring.
…

Leave FMLA out of your handbook if it doesn’t apply

04/01/2005

Q. Our company employs fewer than 50 people, so we don’t have to comply with FMLA. Do we need to mention that fact in our employee handbook? —G.R., Michigan

Monthly pay is OK, but keep payday consistent

04/01/2005

Q. Doesn’t federal law say employees must be paid within two weeks of completing their work, no matter the excuse (computer glitch, etc.)? —A.L., Virginia

Normal commute isn’t covered by workers’ comp

04/01/2005

Q. One of our employees was hurt while driving in a company car on her morning commute to work. Would this be considered a workers’ compensation claim? —K.S., Michigan

It’s OK to slightly alter FMLA leave-taker’s job

04/01/2005
Issue: As a new ruling shows, you can make minor changes to an employee’s job while he or she is on FMLA leave.
Benefit: Increased staffing flexibility, decreased liability under …

Warn managers: no ‘one-sided’ socializing

03/01/2005
Supervisors may naturally feel more comfortable with employees from one gender or the other. But, as a new court ruling shows, it’s important to counsel supervisors never to hold members of …