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Employment Law

Disabled staff: How much slack must you give?

01/31/2014

Supervisors and HR are usually leery about lowering the discipline hammer on employees with disabilities. But they don’t need to be. An employee’s disability status is irrelevant as long as you can prove that you punish all em­­ployees equally for breaking the same rule.

Can we deduct pay if workers go beyond PTO limit?

01/29/2014
Q. An exempt employee ran out of PTO at the end of 2013. I was led to believe we could dock any hours the employee took off for personal time after using all PTO. (Our policy says employees who are out of PTO can be granted personal time off without pay.) Did we handle this correctly? 

KFC settles, agreeing to skirt pants issue

01/28/2014
The owners of several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in North Carolina have agreed to settle a religious discrimination charge leveled by a former employee who claimed that wearing pants violated her Pentecostal beliefs.

Henderson nursing home settles disability discrimination suit

01/28/2014
The owners of the Britthaven of Hen­­der­­son nursing facility has agreed to pay a former cook $50,000 to settle charges it refused to accommodate her disability.

Employer wins limited sanctions against EEOC

01/28/2014
In a sign that some judges are losing patience with the way the EEOC handles employment discrimination lawsuits, a federal court has ordered sanctions against the commission.

Pay up promptly when offering severance

01/28/2014
Sometimes, it’s clear from the moment that you decide to terminate an em­­ployee that she will sue. If that’s the case, a small severance payment may prevent litigation. But if you offer to settle, make sure you follow through promptly.

Action against worker doesn’t mean hostile environment for all similar co-workers

01/28/2014
What should you do if you discover that a rogue supervisor is treating an employee poorly because of his race or other protected characteristic? Fix the problem fast. You don’t have to worry that the super­visor’s action will set up other lawsuits by co-workers who observed the behavior.

Remind supervisors: They can be held personally liable for many work-related problems

01/28/2014

Quite often, employees’ attorneys make sure supervisors are separately charged and individually liable. Cite this trend during training to instill in your managers and supervisors that they need to follow the professional advice HR provides—or else face the consequences.

Know the documentation rules and timetables for FMLA certification requests

01/28/2014
You don’t have to take an em­­ployee’s word for his need for FMLA leave. In fact, it’s a good practice to always require a certification. Just make sure you understand the rules.

Liability on the line: Choose words carefully

01/28/2014
Warn supervisors to watch what they say. Making a statement that suggests the employee’s gender was in any way connected with workplace discipline is asking for a lawsuit.