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Employment Law

Employee gets second chance to prove EEOC complaint

10/12/2011
Didn’t receive a copy of an EEOC complaint within 300 days of when you discharged an employee? Ordi­­narily, that would mean you could rest easy, knowing that no lawsuit could arise. But that’s not always the case.

For unemployment comp, check: Is he really a contractor?

10/12/2011
Independent contractors aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation when their services are no longer needed. But just because you sign an agreement that says someone is an independent contractor doesn’t mean he really is.

Saving grace: Hostile environment in one area can’t prove discrimination companywide

10/12/2011
Here’s a small measure of comfort if your company is caught in a hostile environment scandal involving a single division or facility: Employees who sue for discrimination in other departments, divisions or locations can’t use those cases against you in court unless they were directly affected by that particular hostile environment.

Outback’s tip policy: No rules, just wrong

10/12/2011
Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $1.25 million to Minnesota em­­ployees to remedy what servers at the restaurant chain said was an illegal tip-pooling procedure under state law.

Be patient and scrupulously fair when dealing with litigious employee who has complained

10/12/2011

Employers will win in the long run if they exercise restraint and use patience when dealing with an employee who clearly is looking for a lawsuit. It will take work.

Loose lips, poor timing may spell FMLA trouble

10/12/2011

When it comes to reductions in force, employees on FMLA leave don’t have greater rights than those who haven’t taken FMLA leave. That means if an employer can show it would have chosen the FMLA leave-taker for termination even if she had been at work, there’s no FMLA violation. But employers that are sloppy about the RIF process may end up in court.

Document efforts to ease return from FMLA

10/12/2011
When employers get sloppy and don’t document their decision-making proc­­esses, things can get dicey. Consider what happens when an employee experiences work stress and starts taking FMLA and other leave. In one recent case, the employer was smart enough to carefully track its efforts to both accommodate an employee and get her back to work.

After suing for discrimination, firefighters’ sanity questioned

10/11/2011
A federal judge has ruled that two Pasco County firemen who are suing the county for discrimination must undergo mental fitness-for-duty examinations before they can return to work. The firemen failed to convince the judge that the examinations amounted to retaliation for filing suit against the county.

Get expert help drafting arbitration agreements

10/11/2011
Don’t give in to the temptation to save money by writing your own arbitration agreements or using a standard template available from many arbitration services. Instead, have your attorney review your organization’s unique needs and draft a custom agreement.

Counting paid time off as FMLA leave? Tell employee you’re running them concurrently

10/11/2011
The FMLA says that employers can run out the FMLA clock by counting paid time off against the 12-week entitlement. Smart employers make sure that employees understand that’s how it works. That way, employees won’t run out of leave and lose their jobs because they didn’t realize the clock was ticking.