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Employment Law

Reinstate employee to equivalent job after FMLA leave

04/03/2013
When an employee finishes FMLA leave, she is entitled to return to the same or an equivalent job. The reinstatement provision gives employees some flexibility. How­­ever, it’s a mistake to think it’s OK to return the employee to any old job.

Keep careful pay records, or else courts will take employees’ word for it

04/03/2013
Here’s another powerful reason to maintain meticulous wage-and-hour pay records. If you don’t—and a worker claims you owe him money for unpaid work—the court will rely on the employee’s recollection or records.

Dallas company’s temp shell game doesn’t fool DOL

04/03/2013
Dallas-based Nieman Printing thought it had it all figured out when it hired two temp agencies to employ the same workers doing the same work, but on different days. The strategy: Keep workers from ever putting in more than 40 hours per week for one employer. Desired result: No overtime pay! DOL investigators saw through the charade.

Control nixes independent contractor status

04/03/2013

The usual wage-and-hour rules don’t apply to independent con­­tractors because they aren’t em­­ployees. But that doesn’t mean you can forget about the FLSA by deciding to just call some­­one an independent contractor. What really counts is how much control you assert over the individual in how and when she does the work.

Know what really counts as whistle-blowing

04/03/2013

Here’s some good news for em­­ployers: According to a recent Supreme Court of Texas decision, workers who complain to their super­­visors about alleged illegal activities aren’t protected from retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act. That’s true even if the supervisor is responsible for legal compliance.

Health care reform: Regs, regs and more regs

04/02/2013
The IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services have released a raft of proposed and final regulations that implement the Affordable Care Act health care reform law, which becomes fully operational in nine months.

Older worker too slow? Firing isn’t age bias

04/01/2013
Some older workers hear “slow” and immediately assume that’s code for “old.” But sometimes, slow just means slow.

Carefully document every rule violation to defend against surprise claims

04/01/2013

You never know which fired em­­ployee might sue or for what reason. That’s why you should always carefully document all discipline, up to and including the final reason for discharge. The fact is, a legitimate business reason almost always defeats a discrimination claim.

The NLRB wants the Supreme Court’s blessing

04/01/2013
The National Labor Relations Board in March announced it will appeal a lower court’s ruling that President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority when he made three recess appointments to the board.

How can I balance ADA with safety concerns?

03/29/2013
Q. Can I consider safety when deciding whether to hire a disabled applicant or retain an employee with a disability?