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

Employment Law

Greensboro pastors side with suspended police captain

07/23/2010

According to a group of black ministers, Greensboro Police Department Capt. Charles Cherry is being punished for helping black officers file race discrimination complaints. The group, called the Pulpit Forum, held a news conference expressing its support for Cherry, who is black.

Charlotte company learns the hard way: You will pay for bias

07/23/2010

Junior Revels, age 76, has been a diesel mechanic for a long time. So long, in fact, that when he applied for a job at Southern Metals in Charlotte, the company flat out told him it had decided to hire someone younger. Bad move.

No workers’ comp needed for smallest of small businesses

07/23/2010
The Court of Appeals of North Carolina has ruled that employees who seek workers’ compensation have to show that their employer was a covered employer. That means they must show that the business had three or more regular employees.

You’re not responsible for clocked-out employee

07/23/2010
Employers are liable for damage their employees cause when they hurt customers or bystanders. That’s not the case, however, when those employees are off duty.

Can individual employees be liable for FMLA violations? 4th Circuit may decide

07/23/2010
Most employment laws don’t make individual employees liable for workplace violations they commit in the course of their employment. But that’s not the case with every violation. According to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, it’s unclear whether the FMLA allows such personal and individual liability—a conundrum that may soon be tested.

First suggestion needn’t be last word: You’re free to choose reasonable accommodation

07/23/2010

When an employee asks for a reasonable ADA accommodation for a disability, you don’t have to accept her first suggestion. You are under no obligation to provide the employee’s preferred accommodation if you have another one that’s also reasonable.

School’s out for summer! But the FMLA doesn’t cover day care

07/23/2010

Believe it or not, some employees are under the impression they can use FMLA leave during the summer months to care for their minor children instead of sending them to summer camp or day care. That’s not true unless the child has a serious health condition that prevents participation in camp or day care. Otherwise, parents are expected to make conventional child care arrangements during the summer.

Ban vulgar jokes, comments on breastfeeding

07/23/2010

The new health care reform law gives mothers the legal right to express breast milk at work. But that’s brought a new problem to the fore: co-workers—or even supervisors—making jokes or inappropriate comments about the practice. Remind everyone that lactation is no joking matter. Otherwise, you could have a sexual harassment case on your hands.

Suspect employee crime? Call the cops already!

07/23/2010

Managers may be reluctant to report potential employee theft to the police, assuming that if they are wrong, they could be sued. But chances are that, if an employer acts in good faith, it won’t be liable—even if it turns out the employee is innocent.

You don’t always have to be right–as long as you act in good faith

07/23/2010
Here’s good news for supervisors who are afraid of making the wrong disciplinary decision: Employers don’t have to be right every time about the underlying reasons for disciplinary action. Instead, what counts is acting in good faith.