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Employment Law

Former star locked in lawsuit with ‘Storage Wars’

09/27/2013
The hit television reality show “Stor­­age Wars” has suffered a legal set­­back. A court in Los Angeles has given one of its former stars, Dave Hester, the go-ahead to sue the show’s producers and the A&E cable TV network for retaliation.

Keep it neat! You can restrict facial hair

09/27/2013
Private employers have the right to set their own dress and grooming codes. Within limits, that includes restricting an employee’s facial hair and insisting on a clean-shaven face unless an employee can’t shave because of a documented medical condition or religious requirement.

Slam the brakes on escalating harassment

09/27/2013
Don’t hesitate to stop behavior that hasn’t quite risen to the level of full-blown harassment. Do it as soon as you get wind that something is amiss.

Fashion tip for the fall season: Don’t tolerate teasing about clothing

09/27/2013
No, a lack of fashion sense is not a “protected characteristic,” like age or religion. But as this new case shows, employers that tolerate em­­ployees who tease co-workers about their clothing could be setting themselves up for legal trouble.

If federal government shuts down, what will DOL do? Not much

09/26/2013
Barring a sudden and unexpected outbreak of congressional cooperation, the federal government will run out of money on Oct. 1 and shut down—at least temporarily. What does that mean for DOL enforcement activities? Here’s the likely scenario.

Regs detail reconciliation and reporting under the ACA

09/24/2013
A critical function of the individual health insurance exchanges is to verify that taxpayers are eligible for advance subsidies. But what’s to stop an em­­ployee who has access to affordable group coverage from gaming the system and getting those subsidies anyway? And how will you know?

Court drives nail in coffin of pro-union poster requirement

09/23/2013
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has refused an NLRB bid to retry a May case in which the court said employers couldn’t be required to display a pro-union poster.

DOL issues FMLA guidance for same-sex spouses

09/20/2013
Responding to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision overturning a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the DOL has affirmed that employees with same-sex spouses have the same FMLA rights as other married employees—as long as they live in a state that has legalized same-sex marriage or recognizes such marriages performed in other states.

Tell staff: Accommodations are none of their business

09/19/2013
It’s natural for co-workers to gripe when a disabled employee’s accommodation causes more work. They may complain that the accommodated employee isn’t pulling her weight or that the accommodations are bogus. Tell them to zip it.

NLRB releases mobile app describing worker rights

09/19/2013
The NLRB celebrated Labor Day by unveiling a new mobile phone app that tells employees and unions about their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.