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Florida

Employee feels slighted by promotion process? That’s not enough to win retaliation lawsuit

07/13/2011

Some employees believe that anything the least bit negative that happens to them after they file a lawsuit is grounds for a second lawsuit alleging retaliation. That’s not true. To constitute retaliation, an employer has to do something that would dissuade a reasonable employee from filing a lawsuit in the first place.

Appeals court: No second chance to appeal lower court’s decision on retaliation damages

07/13/2011
An employee who won a discrimination case after he filed an appeal has lost his second appeal. He had claimed it wasn’t enough that a lower court had ordered almost one million dollars in back pay. He said he should have been promoted, too.

Court: Veterans can’t sue for bias under Title VII or Florida Civil Rights Act

07/13/2011
The 11th Cir­cuit Court of Appeals has refused to recognize veterans as a protected class under either Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act or under the Florida Civil Rights Act. That means claims based on military service must generally be brought under the Uniformed Serv­ices Em­ployment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

OK to cut position of worker on FMLA leave–if you can prove FMLA status didn’t affect decision

07/13/2011

Employees who take FMLA leave are usually eligible for reinstatement, but not always. If you were going to eliminate the position anyway, the employee may be out of luck. Before you deny reinstatement, be sure you can clearly show that the position was cut for reasons completely unrelated to the employee’s FMLA leave.

Beware denying ‘vacation’ request in disguise

07/13/2011

If there’s no use-it-or-lose-it policy in place, employees can easily stockpile weeks of vacation or personal leave. Should they become ill, they may try to use that time as a substitute for FMLA leave. If an employee asks you to approve an especially long vacation, and you suspect the underlying reason may be a covered condition under the FMLA, beware automatically rejecting the request.

Tread carefully with pregnant underperformer

06/17/2011

Performance improvement plans (PIPs) can help turn around subpar employees. But if you use PIPs, make sure you implement them equitably. For example, if you place a sales­person on a PIP to raise falling sales, then institute a PIP for everyone whose sales have fallen to the same level. That’s especially important if one of the employees is about to take FMLA leave or is pregnant.

Feds issue new tip credit pooling rules

06/15/2011
Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled.

It takes more than protected status to win lawsuit

06/15/2011
Here’s some good news for employers. Courts are beginning to toss out more lawsuits in the early stages if it becomes clear an employee has no case. Judges are telling employees they have to come to court with real facts—not just allegations they were discriminated against.

Not all harassment based on sex is illegal

06/15/2011

Some employees mistakenly believe that teasing, joking and otherwise making fun of an employee is always grounds for a harassment lawsuit. That’s not true. For example, in order to sue for sexual harassment, employees have to show that the conduct they object to is somehow tied to their gender.

Ensure romance rules protect against association bias

06/15/2011
Consider this when writing policies: Employees can sue if their employer discriminates against them because of their “association” with a member of a protected class. And that association can include dating and other intimate relationships.