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Louisiana

No need to create job for disabled employee

04/13/2010

What should you do if an employee becomes disabled and can’t perform the essential functions of his job under any circumstances? The employee may be entitled to a transfer to another position—if one is open and the employee is actually qualified for the position. But you don’t have to move employees around to create an opening.

Good-faith investigation of harassment cuts your liability risk — even if you were wrong

04/05/2010

Employers sometimes try to avoid taking sides when they learn of possible sexual harassment out of fear that one of the employees involved will sue. Then the situation escalates, and they end up in court anyway. The only realistic employer response: Be prepared to make tough decisions. Investigate the claim.

Prepare for parades, pickets and bullhorns: Court lifts limits on many strike activities

03/01/2010

Here’s a bit of bad news for employers with union-represented employees who are considering going out on strike: A recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling has struck down a number of picketing permit restrictions passed by local ordinance. The decision’s basis: unions’ right to free speech. The result may be some very public protests by labor unions when disputes spill over.

Hiring work-release prisoners? Some aren’t covered by FLSA’s pay, overtime rules

03/01/2010

If you’re considering hiring inmates through a work-release program, carefully weigh whether you will have to pay them as regular employees under the FLSA, or whether you may be able to pay them less. According to a recent 5th Circuit decision, prisoners specifically sentenced to hard labor may not be covered by the FLSA. Their employers may pay them less than minimum wage, and they’re not eligible for overtime pay.

Check CBA for pay rules on safety gear prep

02/12/2010

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine many advantages of being a union workplace, but here’s a bit of good news: At least in some limited circumstances, working under a collective-bargaining agreement gives employers some protection against FLSA lawsuits that demand payment for time spent putting on and taking off protective gear at the beginning and end of the workday.

Serial sexual harasser on the loose? Get ready for big trial—and possibly huge judgment

02/12/2010

If you are having trouble getting top management to take sexual harassment seriously, here’s a case that might help them see the light. Explain that if they let a sexual harasser become a serial harasser, all the cases could be tried together. And that vastly increases the chances that a jury will hold the company liable.

Set job application rules, apply them equally

01/07/2010

Employers are free to create reasonable rules for submitting job applications and make potential employees follow those rules. As long as your rules aren’t enforced in a way that favors one group of applicants over others, courts will let you reject an applicant for failing to follow those rules.

Workplace strife? Transfer is fair solution

01/07/2010

When people have a history of conflict, it makes sense to ensure they don’t have to interact with one another. How you go about separating them may mean the difference between staying out of court or losing a costly successful retaliation or discrimination lawsuit.

Sometimes, you have to trust a jury to make the right decision

01/07/2010

Most employers have severe cases of “juryphobia.” They assume that a jury will automatically side with an employee and award hundreds of thousands of dollars to right an alleged wrong. If you and your attorneys are convinced you didn’t do anything wrong, it may be best to trust a jury to hear the case and come to the same conclusion. That’s what one employer recently did.

Tell harassment victims: Report any retaliation

12/03/2009

Even an exhaustive investigation into sexual harassment allegations may not provide enough information to conclusively determine whether harassment actually occurred. That doesn’t mean you can forget the whole thing. Instead, you must explain to the employee who reported the problem what steps you did take. And you must urge her to report any action she believes is retaliation.