• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

DOL recoups millions for independent contractors

08/22/2024
The DOL determined that the technicians were highly dependent on the company for work that was directed and controlled by the company.

Rules mean nothing without enforcement

08/22/2024
Rules that aren’t enforced may get you in bigger legal trouble than none at all because a jury can point to your rules as evidence you knew your legal obligations but chose to ignore them.

Consider benefits for nursing mothers

08/22/2024
Medela, a leading provider of breast milk pumping equipment, and Mamava, the creator of nursing pods, teamed up to survey new mothers about their nursing needs as they return to the workplace. The results highlight why offering more than the minimum legally required breaks for milk expression may be a welcome benefit, encouraging retention and a reputation for being an employer of choice for new parents.

FMLA leave begins at birth, not before

08/22/2024
The days immediately preceding a child’s birth are exciting. And who could blame a dad for wanting to experience it by taking FMLA leave? The 11th Circuit, however, has ruled that FMLA leave begins when the child is born, not before, so an employee who was terminated for absences he racked up before his child was born was fired legitimately.

Federal court kills FTC noncompete ban

08/21/2024
A federal court in Texas has issued a summary judgment in a case challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s rule that would have banned noncompete agreements.

Travel time & money: Lessons for employers

08/20/2024
Tracking working time and reimbursing nonexempt employees for their traveling expenses can be difficult tasks. Fail to do both and you’ll end up in the middle seat on a long flight to nowhere. Two cases illustrate.

Didn’t know about customer harassment? Unless you were reckless, you won’t be liable

08/19/2024
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers are liable for the sexual harassment of their employees unless they have a solid no-harassment policy, a clear process for bringing harassment to management’s attention and a process to stop harassment as soon as possible. Employers must still try to prevent and stop the harassment, but employees are unlikely to win in court unless they can show that their employer recklessly permitted the customer harassment.

Beware workplace bullying, now potentially grounds for lawsuit

08/19/2024
In April, the Supreme Court’s decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis lowered the standard for what constitutes sex discrimination. The case substantially changed the rules on what employees must prove to win a discrimination case. At the time, management-side employment lawyers predicted the ruling would unleash a flood of lawsuits. Now we have one of the first cases testing the ruling’s limits.

Prepare to notify current and past employees about FTC’s pending noncompete ban

08/19/2024
The Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning noncompete agreements is set to take effect Wednesday, Sept. 4. In addition to forbidding employers from enforcing existing noncompete agreements and requiring employees to sign new ones, the rule says employers must notify current and past employees who have signed noncompete agreements about the ban. Plan now to comply with the notification requirement—even though the rule may never go into effect.

Accommodate employees with eating disorders

08/14/2024
According to a study published by the Harvard School of Public Health, 9% of Americans will eventually have an eating disorder. The study calculated that eating disorders cost $48.6 billion in lost productivity each year due to missed work and compromised job performance.