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Employment Law

Employees who need help with a disability don’t need to say ‘ADA’ or ‘accommodation’

06/05/2013
Under the ADA, employees don’t have to ask for an “accommodation” for their ailments. They merely have to provide enough information for you to realize that’s what they need. It’s up to you to understand their legal rights—then start the interactive dialogue to arrive at a “reasonable accommodation.”

Independent contractor ‘amnesty’: IRS eases rules

06/04/2013
The IRS made several changes this year to clarify which types of employers are eligible under its Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP).

Co-worker violence blamed on psychological disability: Can we ask for a medical certification?

06/03/2013
Q. An employee of ours accused a co-worker of threatening him with physical harm. When we confronted the accused employee, he attributed the behavior to his psychological disorder and to a recent change in his prescription. We would like to verify the em­­ployee’s claims. Are we permitted to ask the em­­ployee for medical certification of his disability and a doctor’s statement regarding his prescribed medications?

How should we determine if employees should be paid for time in training?

06/03/2013
Q. We send our hourly employees to training that is related to work but is not required for employees to do their jobs. The training is on a weekend, is voluntary, and no work is performed. Are we required to pay employees for the hours they spend attending the training?

DOJ settles bias suit against Corpus Christi P.D.

06/03/2013
The DOJ has reached a settlement with the city of Corpus Christi, resolving claims that the city police department’s hiring test violated Title VII. The DOJ charged that from 2005 to 2011, the police depart­­ment used a physical abilities test that unlawfully screened out female applicants for entry-level police officer positions.

Restrict FMLA leave info to those who need to know

06/03/2013
A frequent tactic for employees who have used FMLA leave and who are fired around the same time is to allege that they were terminated for taking FMLA leave. But those claims fall apart if the person making the termination decision didn’t know about the leave. That’s reason enough to limit access to FMLA leave information to those who need to know.

Court: Years alone won’t define ‘significantly younger’

06/03/2013
When someone claims age discrimination, he typically has to show that he was replaced by someone “significantly younger.” What that means is unclear—and courts seem in no hurry to come up with a hard-and-fast rule.

Dodge bogus retaliation suits by tracking exact date of every discrimination claim

06/03/2013
Here’s an important reminder for anyone who is authorized to receive internal discrimination complaints: Always mark the exact date of every complaint in case the complaint is used later as the basis for an employee’s retaliation claim.

OK to punish supervisor harasser more harshly than co-worker harasser

06/03/2013
Supervisors can and should be held to a higher standard when it comes to enforcing workplace rules. That includes punishing a supervisor who harasses a subordinate more harshly than a co-worker who harasses a colleague.

With promotions on the line, beware rivalries that could result in sex bias, harassment

06/03/2013
Here’s a twist in discrimination law that you might never consider. If a co-worker rivalry for an open position includes threats by one worker to quit if the other is promoted and the rivalry is based on sex bias, you may face a lawsuit if you accede to the threat. That’s what happened in one recent case that made its way to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.