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Florida

Face age discrimination claims head on

03/11/2010

Here’s a twist, courtesy of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 Gross v. FBL Financial Services age discrimination decision. The court ruled that employees have to show that “but for” their age, their employer wouldn’t have fired them.

11th Circuit topples hurricane-proof crane standards

03/11/2010

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Miami-Dade County’s ordinance requiring construction cranes to be able to withstand 140 mph winds is invalid. Construction firms had challenged the law, arguing that it would cost jobs, hinder workplace safety and was beyond the county’s (or the state’s) ability to regulate compliance.

Keep track of all time off! Authorized leave counts toward employees’ FMLA eligibility

03/11/2010

If you grant time off to employees who aren’t yet eligible for FMLA leave, take note: If they’re on your payroll, their time off counts toward FMLA eligibility. That means that once they hit the one-year mark, they become entitled to those 12 unpaid FMLA weeks—and terminating them could launch an FMLA lawsuit. That wasn’t always the case …

Employee who’s suing filed for bankruptcy? You may have a ‘get out of jail free’ card!

03/11/2010

Employees who are declaring bankruptcy are supposed to let the bankruptcy court know about any lawsuits they’re involved in. If they’ve sued you for discrimination and don’t tell the court, their lawsuits may be dismissed. That’s because bankruptcy courts are supposed to look at all possible assets. A pending lawsuit is one such asset because it could result in a monetary award. Concealing that asset is akin to fraud.

11th Circuit opens door for wide discretion when trial courts set remedies in bias cases

03/11/2010

In a decision that could encourage trial courts to aggressively fix discrimination, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s wide-ranging remedy for a proven case of discrimination.

Choose words carefully when challenging unemployment

03/11/2010

When you challenge an unemployment claim, what you say can come back to haunt you.

You can discipline worker whose griping boils over

03/11/2010

Some employees who believe they’ve been mistreated get so angry that they begin airing their grievances to co-workers. That can be a firing offense. Although you can’t ban employees from talking about wages or other conditions of employment, you can prohibit harassing conduct.

Odd ADA strategy means a jury will decide Xentel case

03/11/2010

A decision by the U.S. District Court with jurisdiction in South Florida has spotlighted some sage ADA advice: Don’t be a jerk if you can avoid it. Xentel, a charity fundraising firm, hired disabled veteran Mark Lerman to work in its call center. Lerman uses a wheelchair. On his first day at work, Lerman found the firm’s restrooms weren’t fully wheelchair accessible …

Miami-Dade, vendor settle—and whistle-blower gets $1.25M

03/11/2010

Miami-Dade County has agreed to settle a long-running legal dispute with the Wackenhut security firm, and one of the biggest winners is a Wackenhut worker who blew the whistle on the company. The battle began in 2005 when Michelle Trimble accused her employer of billing the county for 300 hours of work a week that no one was performing. The alleged overbilling amounted to $4.5 million per year.

With arbitration under attack, consider right-to-jury-trial waivers

03/11/2010

With the enactment of the Franken Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act for FY 2010, Congress and the Obama administration have begun an assault on employers’ use of mandatory arbitration as an alternative to court trials for resolving workplace disputes and claims. Employers have been asking whether other alternatives to jury trials will exist in the absence of arbitration. One alternative that companies can consider: entering into waivers of civil jury trials with their employees.