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Employment Law

Warn bosses: No comments on worker health

07/16/2019
Supervisors sometimes say things that are clearly best left unsaid—such as fears that an employee’s protected characteristics or activities might cost the company money!

Acosta resignation depletes an already shallow DOL bench

07/16/2019
The resignation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta means only half of the Department of Labor’s 14 positions that require Senate confirmation are occupied nearly two-and-a-half years into the Trump administration.

Poor review alone isn’t enough to win lawsuit

07/11/2019
Employees generally must show they suffered an adverse employment action before they can win a discrimination lawsuit. Merely receiving a poor evaluation, without other consequences, isn’t enough.

On World Cup bandwagon, NY enacts equal pay laws

07/11/2019
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo chose an apt setting to sign legislation mandating equal pay for substantially equal work, regardless of an employee’s protected class.

Equal pay: Document how and why jobs differ

07/11/2019
The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay members of each sex the same for performing work that is substantially the same. The only way for an employer to defend an EPA lawsuit is to prove that the jobs aren’t substantially similar—or that the pay difference is attributable to some factor other than sex.

Focus reviews on performance, not emotions

07/09/2019
When you evaluate an employee who isn’t living up to performance expectations, avoid commenting on her emotional state. Focus on objective criteria like unmet goals or sales quotas. Otherwise, you risk a lawsuit claiming discrimination on the basis of disability.

Pierce terminated worker’s ‘FMLA shield’

07/09/2019
Workers commonly believe they can’t be fired or disciplined while they are out on FMLA leave. They’ll threaten to sue if they believe their jobs are threatened. But their faith in the protective power of the FMLA is misplaced.

How the ADA treats alcoholism and addiction

07/03/2019
Dealing with an employee who is struggling with alcohol or drug abuse is one of HR’s most difficult issues. Don’t make a delicate task even harder by running afoul of the ADA.

Summer brings new employment laws

07/03/2019
It’s summer and that means long breaks for state and local legislatures. Before going on vacation, however, many of those legislatures pushed through new laws that go into effect during the dog days of summer. Here are a few.

Soon to be banned in California: Bias based on hairstyle

07/03/2019
On June 27, the California Assembly passed Senate Bill 188, which broadens the definition of “race” in California’s anti-discrimination law to include “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.”