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HR Management

Court opens door wider to sexual-orientation lawsuits

11/01/2002
In what gay-rights groups are calling a landmark decision, a federal appeals court has said that homosexuals can use federal civil rights laws to sue for alleged harassment. In the …

Not all vision impairments qualify as disabilities

11/01/2002
Several UPS employees who could only see out of one eye claimed their sight was a disability and that UPS’ policy of not allowing them to drive a truck was discriminatory …

Retaliation threat doesn’t erase time limit for filing lawsuit

11/01/2002
Wal-Mart employee Stephanie Beckel complained to a general manager that her supervisor was sexually harassing her. When the general manager told her not to discuss the matter with anyone but himself …

Foreign workers count toward Title VII’s 15-employee minimum

10/01/2002
A worker was subjected to verbal and physical abuse at a Mexican plant of an American company. He sued for harassment. A district court tossed out the suit, saying the …

Write Job Descriptions Before Trouble Starts

10/01/2002

Q. How serious is it if written job descriptions aren’t in place for employees? Is it safe to draft them even after a termination that could result in a lawsuit? —B.B., New York

Labor Department offers Spanish-language FMLA poster

10/01/2002
Covered employers are required to post a “Your Rights Under the FMLA” poster and are expected to communicate the basics about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to employees who …

You’re not liable for failing to solve worker’s benefit problem

10/01/2002
Larkin Watson had a chronic heart condition and missed many days of work. His supervisor suggested he reduce his hours from full- to part-time status, which he did. But when his …

Go on offense to establish defense: Train staff in anti-harassment rules

10/01/2002
Maria Gaines, a corrections officer at a New Jersey county jail, claimed that one evening her supervisor grabbed her and kissed her. Then he allegedly joked about it with other high-ranking …

Draft benefit-plan documents can be legal

10/01/2002
A brokerage firm employee was seriously injured in a car accident while driving drunk. He applied for coverage under the company’s accidental death and dismemberment policy, but his claim was denied …

Politics at work: Know state law on voting leave, political speech

10/01/2002
Federal laws are silent on the issue, but 31 states require private companies to give employees time off to vote if the polls are closed during the employee’s off-work time. …