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Employment Law

Never let fired employee unfairly blame bias; be prepared to prove performance deficiencies

11/07/2011
Employees who have lost their jobs have very little to lose and everything to gain by suing their former employers. Your best defense when firing: Al­­ways carefully document a performance-related reason for the termination. That will trump all but the most egregious cases of supervisory expressions of bigotry.

Don’t let bias complaint stop legit discipline

11/07/2011
Here’s an important reminder for HR professionals handling em­­ployee discipline: If the disciplinary process is well under way—and you believe that the proposed discipline is fair, reasonable and based on facts—there’s no need to stop the process just because the employee files an internal discrimination complaint.

Misclassification could cost Dayton cable firm $1.6 million

11/07/2011
A federal judge has sided with the U.S. Department of Labor in an employee misclassification lawsuit against Fairfield-based Cascom, which lays fiber-optic lines for Time Warner Cable in the Dayton area.

Death puts Marietta company on OSHA watch list

11/07/2011

A horrific accident that killed a worker in March 2011 has led to $186,300 in fines for Refuse Recycling, based in Marietta. Inspectors from OSHA were called to the plant after an employee was found dead inside a rotating drum that screens recyclables from other refuse.

Court blocks free appeal of frivolous claim

11/07/2011
When disgruntled applicants or former employees file frivolous lawsuits, they often act as their own lawyers in court. So-called pro se litigants can’t go far unless the court agrees to waive their court fees. To stop meritless cases from clogging up appeals dockets, more and more federal judges are refusing to waive court fees.

Your rules apply–even for employees preparing to sue

11/07/2011
Here’s another reason to have privacy and confidentiality rules: Em­­ployees who violate those rules in order to gather evidence for a lawsuit they have filed can be disciplined.

Prepare for lawsuit if you change hiring criteria in middle of selection process

11/07/2011
Employers, beware! If you ignore your posted job requirements to hire one applicant when another candidate meets all the minimum qualifications, you may find yourself being sued. Courts may conclude that you “pre-rejected” the most qualified candidate.

It’s up to you to ensure employees know how much FMLA leave they have left

11/07/2011
Employers can use several methods to calculate FMLA leave, including some that can get complicated. That’s one reason FMLA regulations require em­­ployers to let employees know how much leave they are entitled to.

Watch those pension funds–or watch the feds swoop in

11/07/2011

The federal government is suing the owners of a Columbus printing company and their pension plan administrator, claiming they all failed to execute their fiduciary responsibilities to employees. At issue is more than $400,000 in funds missing from two pension accounts set up for employees of Clark Graphics.

Check past reviews of all who seek promotion

11/07/2011
When a supervisor already knows who he wants to promote—and has also identified someone he definitely doesn’t want to get the job—he just may concoct a reason to explain his choice. But if that reason doesn’t jibe with the rejected em­­ployee’s past evaluations, trouble lurks.