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New York

Of course you have an anti-harassment policy; now make sure all your employees can use it

01/12/2010

Your organization probably has policies prohibiting sexual harassment, and you probably offer training for supervisors and employees alike on how the policy works. But that simply isn’t enough. You should have multiple ways for employees to report sexual harassment. The more ways you provide, the more likely a court will conclude that an employee who failed to report the harassment was acting unreasonably.

Strictly limit employee medical information just to those who need to know

01/12/2010

The ADA requires employers to maintain strict confidentiality on any medical- or disability-related information. That means keeping it in a separate, secure file, away from prying eyes that have no business viewing the information. But confidentiality doesn’t apply just to paper or electronic records. Employers also have to make sure they don’t discuss such information with those who don’t need to know.

Stray comments unfortunate, but rarely prove discrimination

01/12/2010

HR professionals often worry needlessly when they hear that a supervisor has made an intemperate or insensitive remark. Fortunately, such comments seldom become the basis of successful lawsuits unless they are truly offensive or outrageous.

Hudson Valley Hospital not so sweet to diabetic employee

01/12/2010

Westchester County’s Hudson Valley Hospital will pay $142,500 to settle an EEOC charge in which a diabetic nurse claimed she suffered disability discrimination. Glorianne Romano asked to have three days in a row off each week following an episode when she went into a diabetic coma in 2007. Her doctor said she needed the time off to regulate her insulin treatments. At first, the hospital agreed, but then withdrew the accommodation, claiming Romano’s schedule was too disruptive.

Legal compliance starts at the very beginning—with hiring

01/05/2010

Protecting yourself and your organization from lawsuits starts the minute you decide to hire someone. Potential lawsuit land mines line your path. To stay out of court, build your hiring process around these principles:

Keep the faith: You can accommodate religions in the workplace

12/15/2009

Two employees ask their boss to ax the company Christmas tree. A worker refuses to trim his dreadlocks, saying they are essential to his practice of Rastafari. A cashier insists she has a right to tell customers, “Have a blessed day.” Those cases have all wound up being tried in court. Employers can’t treat employees differently because of their religion, but that doesn’t mean religious accommodation is easy.

What’s up, doc? How to collect medical info under FMLA rules

12/10/2009
To determine whether an employee or family member has a condition that meets the FMLA’s definition of “serious health condition,” employers should review the medical certification they receive from the employee’s health care provider. One key section of the updated FMLA regulations clarifies who may request additional information about an employee’s FMLA certification—and how it should be sought.

Insist on attendance for all—disabled or not

12/09/2009

Under the terms of the ADA, disabled employees have job protection—if they are able to perform the essential functions of their jobs, with or without accommodations. But those accommodations have to be reasonable. If you consider attendance an essential job function, courts probably won’t compel you to allow disabled employees to miss unreasonable amounts of work.

After FMLA leave, don’t presume future needs

12/09/2009

Here’s a problem to warn supervisors and managers about: When an employee with a disability returns from FMLA leave, don’t assume she can’t do her job or will need more time off. If or when the time comes, then you can decide how to handle time off. Until then, assume all is well.

Take sexual harassment complaints seriously—even if they involve past lovers

12/09/2009

Some employers wrongly believe that when co-workers end what was a consensual sexual relationship, one employee can’t later claim sexual harassment for post-breakup conduct. The dubious assumption: Any subsequent unpleasant contact between the employees was probably based on jealousy or anger over the broken relationship rather than “on account of sex.” That’s not always true.