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Florida

Courts won’t second-guess honest business decisions

11/09/2011
Courts hesitate to second-guess an employer’s decision to cut staff for economic reasons. Generally, employees have to challenge such decisions head on, with direct evidence of discrimination. That’s hard to do.

Employee sues for bias? Check lawsuit claims against original EEOC complaint

11/09/2011

A court has clarified that the EEOC isn’t required or expected to look beyond what an employee states in his agency complaint when investigating it. That means that if an employee fills out the form herself and doesn’t provide enough information to trigger suspicions that discrimination has occurred, chances are the matter won’t go further.

Warn supervisors: It’s not your job to question why employees take FMLA leave

11/09/2011

Employees can’t be deprived of FMLA leave as long as they meet the law’s requirements for length of employment and hours worked and must deal with their own or a family member’s serious health condition. After FMLA leave has been approved, it’s a huge mistake to question employees about how they use their leave. Essentially, doing so may be interpreted as interference with the right to take leave.

Stearns bill would eliminate low wage for disabled

11/09/2011
Rep. Cliff Stearns, who represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District, has proposed legislation to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, abolishing a provision that lets employers pay less than the minimum wage to some disabled workers.

When can you fire worker who filed complaint?

11/09/2011

Employees often mistakenly believe that if they complain to HR about discrimination or harassment, they somehow become untouchable. They assume that anything negative that happens shortly after must be retaliation. That’s simply not the case. If the employee breaks a rule, he’s not immune from the usual and customary punishment.

Messed up? Then ‘fess up and fix your mistake

11/09/2011

Hey, it happens: Sometimes, employers mess up. But they can undo much of the damage by acting fast to fix mistakes. Take this case, in which a termination letter was sent by mistake while the disciplinary process was still under way. A quick explanation and retraction saved the day.

Personality clash or hostile work environment? It depends on hypothetical ‘reasonable person’

10/17/2011

Overly sensitive employees can interpret anything negative as hostile. But often what is subjectively hostile is just unpleasant from an objective standpoint, the result of an apparent personality conflict. It all depends on how a hypothetical “reasonable person” who finds himself in the same situation would view the matter.

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.

Domestic-partnership rights law on docket in Tallahassee

10/11/2011
The Florida Legislature is set to debate a proposed Domestic Partnership Act that would grant domestic partners the same rights married couples enjoy.

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.