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Employment Law

Be alert for hidden–or overt–bias when hiring manager rejects qualified candidate

10/02/2013
Do some of your supervisors gripe about having to follow anti-discrimination laws? Rein them in. Otherwise, you’ll wind up in court if a job candidate gets rejected for obviously illegal reasons.

Even if not job-related, consider granting easy disability accommodations

10/02/2013
Some accommodations requests aren’t directly related to the disabled employee’s job functions. Take, for example, simple accommodations like changing arrival and departure times so a disabled employee can take a specific bus or providing a reserved parking spot next to the entrance. Those accommodations fall within the scope of the ADA.

Don’t let EEOC complaint derail planned firing

10/02/2013
Employees sometimes believe they can stop a pending termination merely by filing an EEOC complaint. The implied threat: That they’ll sue for retaliation if they do, in fact, get fired. That won’t work if the employer can show it would have fired the employee anyway.

Is ‘doesn’t play well with others’ a disability?

10/02/2013
Some employees are completely unable to get along with others. Sometimes, psychological problems may be at the heart of the trouble and the employee may claim she has a disability that must be reasonably accommodated. Employers don’t have to create jobs as an accommodation, making the only possible option termination.

EEOC race bias suit targets Carolina Mattress Guild

10/01/2013
The EEOC alleges that Carolina Mattress Guild, based in Thomasville, failed to address black workers’ complaints of a racially hostile work environment and then fired one employee in retaliation for having complained.

Cold response to accommodation request puts firm in hot water

10/01/2013
Rose Hill-based House of Raeford Farms faces an EEOC disability discrimination suit after it fired a worker who requested a transfer to accommodate her disability.

Courts cut slack for employees who act as their own lawyers

10/01/2013
When a former employee sues and decides to represent himself in court, expect an expensive case. That’s be­­cause courts typically give so-called pro se litigants every benefit of the doubt, since they don’t have attorneys to guide them (or tell them their cases don’t have a chance).

Review whether partially disabled employees can be removed from workers’ comp

10/01/2013

Do you have former employees collecting both workers’ compensation and partial disability benefits for an on-the-job injury? Thanks to a recent Court of Appeals of North Carolina decision, now is a good time to see if they may no longer be eligible for those workers’ comp benefits.

Upset you didn’t get the job? Well, did you apply for it?

10/01/2013
Here’s a common-sense ruling: Applicants and employees can’t simply assume they won’t get a job and then sue when the self-fulfilling prophesy comes true. They must make an effort to get the job when it’s clear how to apply.

Elevator company settles with shafted employee

10/01/2013
Schindler Elevator Corp. has agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit filed after it laid off a black elevator mechanic from its Charlotte office, even though he was rated higher than almost all his white co-workers who were retained.