• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Florida

Condition worthy of FMLA leave might not be ADA disability

01/01/2008

The FMLA and the ADA may seem as though they overlap, but that’s not always the case. A disability under the ADA is almost always a serious health condition under the FMLA, but not every serious health condition is an ADA disability. Here’s why …

Don’t just rubber-Stamp manager’s termination recommendation

01/01/2008

When a supervisor recommends discharging an employee, resist the temptation to simply agree with her assessment. Here’s why: If the employee is being targeted because she took FMLA leave or engaged in some other form of protected activity, blind adherence to the supervisor’s recommendation to fire opens up the company to a retaliation claim.

In unemployment comp cases, alcoholism no defense to misconduct discharge

01/01/2008

Alcoholism may be a disability under the ADA and a serious health condition under the FMLA, but that doesn’t mean employers have to tolerate employees who come to work drunk. In fact, being under the influence at work can be misconduct, disqualifying the employee from getting unemployment payments …

EEOC called after MRSA scare costs Miami man his job

01/01/2008

A South Florida man may be the first U.S. employee to lose his job over methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—a highly contagious and potentially lethal, drug-resistant bacterial infection also known as MRSA …

Workers’ comp rates look sunny

01/01/2008

Workers’ comp rates will drop 18.4% next year, the fifth consecutive decrease since Florida’s system was overhauled in 2003 …

IT administrator helped himself to $580,000 worth of data

01/01/2008

William Sullivan, senior database administrator for Certegy Check Services of St. Petersburg, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in connection with the theft of confidential data on more than 8.4 million customers over a five-year period …

Commissioner denies former aide’s sexual harassment charge

01/01/2008

Alyssa Ogden, former aide to Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White, says she was fired because she rebuffed numerous sexual advances since she joined White’s staff in April of 2007. She filed an EEOC complaint …

How to comply with Florida’s Drug-Free Workplace program

01/01/2008

Employers participating in Florida’s Drug-Free Workplace (DFW) program must be careful to follow its strict guidelines or risk incurring workers’ compensation benefit liability. In exchange for lower workers’ compensation premiums, Florida employers can agree to adopt the DFW program …

Shift swapping reasonably accommodates religious days off

12/11/2007

Employers can manage employees’ religious needs without simply exempting religious employees from weekend work. Here’s how: Simply design a system that rotates shifts so everyone gets a turn for weekend days off; then tell those seeking religious accommodations it’s up to them to arrange shift swaps …

Don’t retaliate against harassment victim who calls police

12/01/2007

Here’s a risk you may not have considered: Ignoring a sexual harassment complaint may prompt the alleged victim to get help from outside law enforcement agencies. React inappropriately and you’re likely to have a retaliation suit on your hands …