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Employment Law

First things first on FMLA: Challenge eligibility before approving leave

03/12/2013
Many employers are seeing a surge in requests for intermittent leave when an employee has a parent or child who needs help getting to medical appointments or undergoing treatments. Before you approve a request for such intermittent leave, make sure you are satisfied with the medical certification.

Accommodating religion: What HR & managers need to know

03/12/2013
The increasing religious diversity in the workforce is causing more managers to make legal mistakes. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to dis­­crimi­­nate against applicants or em­­ployees based on their religion. Here’s what the law means to employers and managers on a practical, day-by-day level.

Immigration plan: More penalties, mandatory E-Verify

03/11/2013
The immigration reform plan put forth by President Obama last month calls for increased penalties against employers for hiring undocumented workers. Plus, it would mandate employers’ participation in the electronic E-Verify system within five years.

What are wage-and-hour implications of tracking time for telecommuters?

03/07/2013

Q. We recently started permitting two of our employees to telecommute on certain days of the week. We are concerned with tracking these employees’ hours. What are the wage-and-hour concerns we should be aware of for telecommuting employees?

When equipment must start up, when does work begin?

03/07/2013
Q. When our employees come in to work, they spend part of their time getting their equipment running. Do we need to compensate them for that time?

Mexico revamps labor law, with implications for U.S. firms

03/07/2013
For the first time in 40 years, Mexico has instituted significant labor reforms, a move that has far-reaching implications for its em­­ployers as well as U.S. companies doing business there.

Eye care company sees the error of its pay ways

03/07/2013
Fort Worth-based Alcon Laboratories has agreed to pay $199,443 in back wages to 342 assemblers, material handlers and production technicians at its Houston facility.

Scooter Store settles suit alleging it violated ADA

03/07/2013
New Braunfels-based mobility aids retailer The Scooter Store has settled a disability discrimination suit with the former manager of a store in New York. The manager claimed the store fired him after he requested a leave of absence to care for his psoriatic arthritis.

Courts cracking down on pro se litigants

03/07/2013
Employers that face lawsuits from employees who act as their own lawyers know it’s hard to get those cases dismissed. But judges are becoming more sensitive to this problem—and less tolerant of pro se litigants.

It’s up to employee to connect dots between alleged bias, protected status

03/07/2013
The fact that a worker may endure slights, insults or even plots to drive him out of the job aren’t necessarily the basis for liability. It’s up to the employee to prove a connection between incidents and something like his race, age, disability or other protected characteristic.