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Florida

Don’t tolerate threats, even if they occur during conversation about possible discrimination

06/16/2010

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for complaining. That protection, however, isn’t unlimited. There’s a huge difference, for example, between an employee who calmly reports that he has been discriminated against and someone whose complaints sound more like threats of physical harm.

Stop lawsuits before they start: Set clear process for posting job opportunities

06/16/2010

It seems logical enough: Employees shouldn’t be able to sue over promotions they never applied for. But in some cases where positions were never posted, employees have successfully sued, alleging they would have applied had they known there was an opening. Fortunately, the 11th Circuit won’t allow those employees an automatic win …

Make sure employees–and bosses and HR–know exactly how to call in FMLA absences

06/14/2010
Make sure your entire staff is on the same page when it comes to responding to FMLA requests. Decide on a contact person and set a policy that lets all employees know. Create a log for recording all incoming FMLA communications. Remember, certifications may come directly from medical providers, who are likely to use fax or mail delivery.

Rescind firing ASAP to end discrimination suit

06/14/2010
Let’s say a supervisor acts too hastily in firing an employee who has turnaround potential. Or perhaps you learn the employee has a plausible discrimination claim, and you’d rather address the issue right away than risk litigation. If you offer to reinstate the employee right away and she refuses to return, chances are a court won’t conclude you unfairly terminated her in the first place.

Retaliation? Not if bias claim was bogus

06/14/2010
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a jury’s $300,000 retaliation award, reasoning that the complaint that was the basis for the retaliation claim wasn’t based on a good-faith belief that discrimination had occurred.

OK to use deductions to collect from employees?

05/11/2010
Q. If an employee owes us money, can we collect it through deductions from his wages?

Can laid-off, injured worker collect workers’ comp benefits?

05/11/2010
Q. We had to lay off an injured worker for economic reasons. He has not attempted to work for a year since that layoff. Will he be entitled to temporary benefits under the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act?

Can subcontractor’s employee sue prime contractor for work site negligence after injury?

05/11/2010
Q. Our company was a general contractor on a construction job. A subcontractor performed the electrical work. One of the subcontractor’s workers was injured while leaving the construction site. The subcontractor has denied compensability of the workers’ compensation claim, saying that the accident wasn’t within the course and scope of employment. The worker is now threatening to sue us for negligence. Can he do that?

Beware the cat’s paw: How innocent decisions create liability

05/11/2010

It comes as a bolt out of the blue: The Florida Commission on Human Relations notifies you that there’s “reasonable cause” to believe retaliation was the reason a female employee lost out on a promotion to a male co-worker. But it was a clean promotion process! How did this happen? As it turns out, this is the “cat’s paw” doctrine at work.

BofA, Merrill face sex bias lawsuit following merger

05/11/2010

Bank of America took control of a lot of toxic assets when it purchased brokerage house Merrill Lynch in 2008. Part of the poison was apparently a litigious workforce that couldn’t wait to meet its new co-workers. Two Florida women are part of a sex discrimination lawsuit claiming that the combined companies treat their female financial advisors like “second-class citizens.”