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Employment Law

Gay employee can claim bias based on gender stereotyping

05/16/2017
Courts are currently working out whether discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is sex discrimination under Title VII. However, that’s not the only way to challenge anti-gay bias.

Keep accurate pay records–or prepare for court to take employee’s word for it

05/16/2017
If you fail to keep tabs and the worker sues, it’s generally his word against yours as to how many hours per day and per week the employee worked. That can result in a big back-pay bill, especially if the court doubles the damages as permitted under both federal and state law.

Ensure employee receives notice that FMLA leave is about to expire

05/16/2017
What happens if the employer fails to notify the employee? She may win an FMLA interference lawsuit if she can prove that, had she known, she would have returned to work and could have performed her job.

OK to make some job changes during FMLA

05/16/2017
Ordinarily, an employee taking FMLA leave is entitled to return to the same job or one that’s substantially equivalent. But what if the employee’s job changed while the employee was out on FMLA leave?

Forbid reinstatement when settling lawsuits

05/16/2017
Be sure to consider all the ramifications of settling an employee’s discrimination lawsuit, especially if the settlement includes reinstatement. An employee who comes back to work for you could turn right around and sue you again if he believed you are continuing to discriminate.

NLRB soon to tilt Republican

05/16/2017
The FBI is running background checks on two potential Trump administration nominees to fill two vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board.

State, local compliance vexes employers most

05/16/2017
While policy changes in Washington will eventually affect workplace practices, employers’ most difficult current challenges are being driven by state and local regulations, according to a new Littler Mendelson survey of HR professionals, in-house attorneys and senior executives.

No fury like a (pregnant) woman scorned

05/11/2017
A Florida insurance brokerage has agreed to pay $100,000 and change its policies to settle charges it discriminated against a job applicant because of her pregnancy.

How should we handle exempt employees’ sick leave taken under our PTO plan?

05/10/2017
Q. The FLSA requires that we pay the full salary for any week in which the exempt employee performs any work. We have a sick leave plan for all employees included in our paid time off—or PTO—plan. If an exempt employee calls off sick, we dock her PTO available, which includes sick or vacation. In other words, our PTO isn’t split into sick and vacation pay. Can we dock this bank until it’s gone before we pay her for nonwork days?

Appeals courts split on Title VII sexual orientation discrimination

05/10/2017
The 2nd and 7th Circuits have recently issued conflicting rulings, with the 2nd Circuit holding that sexual orientation discrimination is not sex discrimination within the meaning of Title VII, and the 7th Circuit holding the opposite.