• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

In Minneapolis, janitorial firm haunted by ‘ghost’ timecards

11/15/2012
Minneapolis janitors working for Diversified Maintenance Systems have received conditional class-action status in an FLSA lawsuit that alleges the company orchestrated a timecard switching scheme designed to avoid paying overtime.

Court nixes multiple suits in different forums

11/15/2012
Courts are getting tough on employees who file multiple lawsuits in different forums by requiring consolidation into one court. Employees who don’t cooperate end up out of court.

Want to cut overtime pay? OK to alter workweek–as long as change is permanent

11/15/2012
Good news for cost-conscious employers: The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an employer is free to change how it designates the workweek as long as it does so “permanently”—even if the sole reason is to reduce overtime pay.

Steer clear of blanket hiring policies that stymie disabled applicants

11/15/2012

Do you have a standard hiring rule that effectively screens out some job applicants? If so, scrap it. Instead, consider each applicant on his or her merits, especially if the rule could harm applicants with certain disabilities.

Examine actual job duties–not job descriptions–to determine if jobs are truly equivalent

11/15/2012
Don’t rely on job descriptions to counter claims that you violated the Equal Pay Act. How the job is actually performed counts much more.

New look for posters from Dept. of Labor & Industry

11/15/2012

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has redesigned four required workplace posters. The new posters cover safety and health regulations, wage and overtime law, age discrimination and retirement and procedures injured employees should follow at work.

Beware discipline following benefits complaint

11/15/2012
Not every complaint about what might be construed as a benefit amounts to protected activity under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Communicate findings of bias investigation

11/15/2012
If an employee complains about alleged discrimination and you investigate, make sure you let the employee know the result. It could prevent a lawsuit.

How to establish a sexual harassment defense?

11/14/2012
Q. We have several 16-year-old girls working as servers in our restaurant. One worker’s mother told us about alleged harassment. Can we rely on our training for our defense?

Can we prohibit moonlighting?

11/13/2012

Q. Some of our full-time employees have told us that they are looking for part-time jobs to make extra income. We’re worried about how this will affect their performance at our company. Can we prohibit them from working for other employers after-hours?