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Employment Law

DOL’s 2016 budget tips off Obama’s priorities

02/09/2015
The U.S. Department of Labor stands to gain far more than most federal agencies in the White House’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposal released Feb. 2. President Obama’s budget would increase DOL funding by almost 11% next year, compared to an average of 5.3% for other federal agencies.

Beware slow-to-emerge need for accommodation

02/09/2015
Expect a court fight if you reject an applicant you previously agreed to hire because you discovered a hard-to-accommodate disability.

Senators want say before NLRB changes joint-employer standard

02/08/2015
Pending National Labor Relations Board cases that will probably deem national corporations and their franchisees joint employers “could destroy a small business opportunity for more than 700,000 Americans,” according to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

More than a matter of style: Grooming rules can differ based on gender

02/05/2015

If you have a dress and grooming policy that sets out different rules for men and women, you aren’t necessarily setting yourself up for a sex discrimination lawsuit. As several court rulings have shown, you can have different rules based on gender—as long as you enforce those rules even-handedly.

EEOC under fire for wellness stance

02/05/2015
A parade of witnesses before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Jan. 29 called on the EEOC to relax enforcement of rules that keep some employers from using voluntary wellness plans to control health care costs.

New sex discrimination rules proposed for federal contractors

02/04/2015
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a proposal for new rules clarifying federal contractors’ requirements to prohibit sex discrimination.

OK to base discipline on pre-FMLA absences

02/04/2015

Until an employee has logged 12 months of service with her employer, she’s not eligible for FMLA leave. After she becomes eligible, you can’t use FMLA-related absences against her. But what about absences occurring before she became eligible? Can you count those? The answer is yes.

The ideal: Those who handle discipline shouldn’t have access to FMLA info

02/04/2015
If you have a large enough HR office, it makes good sense to keep the FMLA request-and-approval process separate from the disciplinary process. Doing so ensures that someone with expertise in FMLA administration handles the entire process.

Changing employees’ job duties or hours during FMLA leave? Have good reasons

02/04/2015
Employees who take FMLA leave are generally entitled to come back to their old jobs when they return. If you make any changes to their jobs, be sure you can document solid business reasons that are unrelated to FMLA leave.

Harassment? Don’t hide behind handbook

02/04/2015
The fact is, when an employer learns about harassment from any source, it must investigate and act. Ignoring the problem just because an employee was afraid to formally report sexual harassment won’t work.