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Employment Law

OSHA pops Champagne Demolition for retaliation

10/09/2012
Champagne Demolition in Albany faces an OSHA lawsuit claiming that it illegally fired an employee for reporting improper asbestos removal practices at a company worksite.

Control what you can: You can’t stop all hostility

10/09/2012
Good news for employers that try their best to maintain a harassment-free workplace, but sometimes fail: Courts understand there are limits to what employers can do when it comes to limiting all racially hostile comments and acts.

Tell bosses: Careless comments cause lawsuits

10/09/2012
The only appropriate response to a pregnancy announcement is “Congratulations.” No smart aleck comments, no questions about family size, no wondering aloud how long the employee expects to be out. If the pregnant employee asks about leave, her boss should refer her to HR.

Can ‘casual chat’ with employee put you on FMLA notice?

10/09/2012
Say you’re sitting with employees at lunch and one of them casually mentions that her parents are aging and in poor health. Does that informal chatter officially put your company on notice that the employee’s leave to visit her sick parents is protected under the FMLA?

Nursing rights law: Can we limit baby distraction?

10/09/2012

Q. I know we have to provide milk-expression breaks for new moms, and we do. But now a new mother is having her mother bring the baby in twice a day to nurse. These breaks go more than 30 minutes as the baby is passed around, etc. Can we just tell her to express and refrigerate the milk?

Timekeeping records: Know the rules for exempt & nonexempt staff

10/08/2012
Employers with casual timekeeping systems are much more likely to face lawsuits over unpaid wages than organizations with strict record-keeping rules. Some simple procedural guidance can help keep you out of court. Here’s how the record-keeping requirements for exempt employees differ from those for nonexempt workers.

Fry’s pays $2.3 million to settle harassment complaint

10/05/2012
Fry’s Electronics, which operates eight stores in Texas, will pay $2.3 million to settle sexual harassment and retaliation complaints arising from incidents at a store in Washington.

Arlington firm owes $53K in overtime wages

10/05/2012
Arlington-based Espitia Cleaning Inc. agreed to pay $53,095 in back wages to 130 current and former janitors following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Retaliation suit costs construction company $38,500

10/05/2012
MKB Construction has settled charges it retaliated against an employee in El Paso after he complained of sexual harassment on the job.

Good-faith complaint required for retaliation to be possible

10/05/2012
Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation—up to a point. Frivolous complaints don’t count.