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Employment Law

It serves no purpose: Keep references to employees’ ages out of official documents

08/09/2016

There is rarely a reason to note an employee’s age on official company documents. There’s no reason to list birthdates, for example, on seniority lists when seniority is based on years of service. Doing makes an age discrimination lawsuit more likely.

It’s OK to address earlier performance problems after employee returns from FMLA leave

08/09/2016
Employees who take FMLA leave sometimes think their supervisors aren’t allowed to criticize any performance deficiencies that occurred before the leave began. That’s just not true.

Warn supervisors: No age-based comments

08/09/2016
It’s usually hard for employees to win age discrimination lawsuits—unless a manager or supervisor insists on making ageist comments. These can create an age-based hostile work environment.

Always check a manager’s history of discipline

08/09/2016
When it comes to retaliation, pay attention to how managers have disciplined in the past. Before approving a recommendation for discharge, you should check that history.

Employer gets to choose the ADA accommodation

08/09/2016
Employees don’t call the shots when it comes to picking a reasonable disability accommodation. They can certainly make suggestions, but the ADA leaves the final decision to employers. As long as the chosen accommodation is reasonable, it complies with the law.

Not-so-silent workers win harassment award

08/08/2016
Some supervisors seem to think they can get away with mistreating low-paid workers who have few employment options. Increasingly, that confidence is misplaced.

House bill would phase in new overtime salary threshold

08/06/2016
A group of fiscally conservative House Democrats has introduced legislation that would phase in Department of Labor rules raising the salary threshold for white-collar overtime to $47,467 per year.

Comments about employee’s age don’t always add up to discrimination

08/04/2016
When employees say stupid things, take some small comfort: Not every stray comment will be grounds for a successful lawsuit.

Manage intermittent leave with calendar-year method

08/04/2016

Employees who take FMLA intermittent leave can wreak havoc with work schedules. Because their conditions can flare up at any time, their absences are by nature unpredictable. But there are ways you can legally curtail intermittent leave.

Is that alcohol you smell on employee’s breath? What to do now

08/01/2016
When you smell alcohol on an employee, or receive reports that an employee smells of alcohol, you need to act fast to protect everyone’s safety—but not so fast that you mishandle the situation. Follow these guidelines.