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Employment Law

Do help desk staffers qualify for the FLSA’s computer professional exemption?

10/13/2015
Q. My company is switching to a new technology platform that will require many hours’ worth of IT support at the help desk level. The job must be done quickly, but we don’t have the resources to hire new staff. I’ve heard “computer people” are exempt from overtime requirements. Is that true?

Sierra Academy of Aeronautics settles pregnancy bias case

10/13/2015
A female airplane mechanic who alleged she was fired after she revealed her pregnancy to her employer will receive $60,000 in damages. Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, located near Merced, Ca., agreed to a seven-year consent decree, but admitted no liability.

Workers’ comp: The new contractor risk

10/13/2015
Prepare to add another problem that has flown under most employers’ radar: The risk is that they will be slapped with a huge bill from their workers’ compensation insurers, demanding payment for workers’ comp coverage for all those independent contractors.

Supreme Court tackles arbitration agreements

10/09/2015
One of the first cases the U.S. Supreme Court heard in its 2015-2016 term could have important implications for employers that require arbitration to settle workplace disputes.

Growing workplace protections for transgender employees

10/08/2015
No federal law protects gay employees—including transgender employees—from discrimination or harassment because of their sexual orientation. However, courts and the EEOC have begun applying Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to protect transgender rights.

‘Employer’ and ’employment’: Definitions changing, problems brewing

10/08/2015
Controversial actions by three major federal agencies have businesses worried.

Papa John’s franchisee faces jail time for avoiding OT pay

10/08/2015
A Papa John’s pizza franchisee faces jail time for his attempt to evade responsibility for paying overtime to workers at nine stores in the Bronx, N.Y.

UPS grooming standards prompt religious bias lawsuit

10/08/2015
A Muslim applicant for a driver helper position with UPS in Rochester, N.Y. is one of the lead plaintiffs in a class-action suit against the delivery service. The EEOC is suing on behalf of several men of various religions who have either allegedly been forced to shave to obtain a UPS job or been denied employment because of their religious beliefs.

EEOC sues Schenectady Subway franchise for sexual harassment

10/08/2015
A manager at a Schenectady, N.Y. Subway franchise allegedly demanded sex from teenage applicants in exchange for jobs at the sandwich chain. Two underage girls reported the manager to the EEOC after he sent them explicit texts suggesting that they would be hired if they had sex with him.

Public employee free speech rights don’t extend outside work

10/08/2015
Government employees have limited First Amendment rights at work to voice concerns of “public importance.” But the right doesn’t extend to causing confrontations outside of work when the speech has nothing to do with public issues.