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Employment Law

Each new racial slur can reset the litigation clock

01/08/2016

Generally, employees don’t have long to get the litigation ball rolling if they want to complain about discrimination. In most cases, they must file a complaint with the EEOC or a state agency within 300 days of an alleged discriminatory act. However, employees often have lots more leeway if they are claiming they had to work in a hostile environment characterized by repeated slurs or other harassing behavior.

Feds target no-fault attendance

01/08/2016
No-fault attendance programs were designed to be completely objective, the idea being that all absences and therefore all workers are treated equally. But the FMLA and ADA require employers to know why an employee was absent, so the “hear no evil” approach can’t work.

Attendance, biometric scanning and employee privacy

01/07/2016
Many employers now track attendance using biometric scanners that require an employee to clock in and out by scanning a fingerprint or a palmprint. New York employers should note a statute that limits the collection of biometric data.

Speaking out in course of government job isn’t protected

01/07/2016
Government employees have limited First Amendment rights when speaking out. But the right doesn’t apply if the public employee is merely doing his or her job.

Isolated comments aren’t enough to prove discrimination

01/07/2016
When an employee gets fired, his thoughts may turn to filing a lawsuit—maybe based on some suddenly remembered comment that he took as offensive or another supposedly discriminatory act. Fortunately, courts are rarely persuaded.

Racial slur or everyday saying? If it’s offensive, make sure it stops

01/07/2016
Certainly, train your managers that they cannot use common racist phrases and names. But go beyond the obvious and provide examples of other terms and behaviors that may not seem obvious. The following case provides an example.

Rejecting sexual advances protected in NYC

01/07/2016
Under federal law and New York state law, merely rejecting a supervisor’s sexual advances without reporting the conduct to HR probably isn’t protected activity. However, that’s not the case under the New York City Human Rights Law.

Harassment ended? Tell employee to move on

01/07/2016
Some employees will never be satisfied with their employer’s solution to perceived harassment. But if you have fixed the problem, it’s perfectly fine to tell the employee he needs to move on and forget about the past.

EEOC claims Glenwood F.D. hosed older firefighters

01/07/2016
The EEOC has sued a volunteer fire company for age discrimination because of the way it manages its length of service award program.

Light duty essentially admits FMLA eligibility

01/06/2016
When an employee returns from FMLA leave and his employer assigns him to light-duty work, that is basically an acknowledgment that the employee has a serious health condition incapacitating enough to interfere with performing an essential job function. The employer can’t later challenge that part of FMLA eligibility.