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Employment Law

It’s got to be more than a hunch! Courts nix unsupported bias claims

12/21/2011
Good news for employers fighting off discrimination claims: Courts are losing patience with lawsuits based on little more than the argument that “it must have been discrimination.”

Leave this ugly legacy for the history books: Warn bosses against any reference to nooses

12/21/2011
You must instruct supervisors and managers: Any reference to hanging, ropes or nooses is absolutely forbidden in the workplace. Immediately address any complaints about nooses in the workplace. Also make sure no employee is punished for reporting the presence of a noose.

Employers expect uptick in lawsuits this year

12/21/2011
Nine in 10 employers expect litigation against their organizations to in­­crease or stay the same in 2012 compared with 2011, according to Ful­­bright & Jaworski’s 8th annual Liti­­gation Trends Survey Report.

Settlement reached in deaths at Mount Carroll grain elevator

12/21/2011
The operator of a Mount Carroll grain elevator has settled U.S. Department of Labor charges it that broke federal child labor laws when it allowed a 14-year-old to work in a hazardous job that proved fatal.

Beware management push-back on HR decisions

12/21/2011
As an HR professional, you may come across employment practices that you think violate the law. What you do with that concern and how you express it may make the difference between engaging in protected activity or not—and by extension, whether you can sue for retaliation if upper management punishes you.

Employers predict more HR lawsuits in 2012

12/21/2011
Nine in 10 employers expect litigation against their organizations to increase or stay the same in 2012 compared with 2011, according to Fulbright & Jaworski’s 8th annual Litigation Trends Survey Report.

The FMLA calendar: 4 methods to counting an ‘FMLA year’

12/20/2011
The DOL’s FMLA regu­­la­­tions provide employers with several options for calculating how much leave employees are entitled to at any given time. According to the regulations, employers are permitted to choose any one of the following methods for measuring the “12-month period” in which the 12 weeks of leave entitlement occurs.

Asthmatic fired after creating his own accommodation

12/20/2011
Whenever an employee reveals a disability, employers must explore reasonable accommodations. The EEOC clearly doesn’t consider it reasonable to send an employee home and then fire him, as the following case shows.

Refusing hair-sample drug test trims firm’s bank account

12/20/2011
G2 Secure Staff has settled a disability discrimination charge stemming from poor hiring practices at Raleigh-Durham International Air­­port, where the company provides security services.

Medical device manufacturer faces religious bias suit

12/20/2011

The EEOC has filed suit against Medi­­cal Specialties Inc., alleging it discriminated against Evelyn Lock­­­­­­hart because of her religion. She is a member of a Christian denomination whose practitioners are forbidden to work on certain days.