Employers that track poor performance and can clearly justify reasons for discharge rarely lose lawsuits. That’s because, unless there is solid proof of bias, poor performance will always trump spurious arguments about alleged discrimination.
The New York City Council has amended the city’s Fair Workweek Law to allow employees to make temporary changes to their work schedules for “personal events.”
Employers with employees who work from home or far from the main office sometimes find themselves facing litigation in a state far from the main office. Making clear up front that lawsuits can’t be filed elsewhere may help.
Sometimes, you may want to use a last chance agreement to give a worker who violated your rules a second chance. Make sure supervisors know about it so they can be on the lookout for potential problems.
Access to internal complaints should be on an as-needed basis. Restricting access to those files limits the number of staff members who can be accused of retaliation.
Except in very rare circumstances, an employer isn’t obligated to provide an accommodation for a disabled worker who doesn’t ask for one. Otherwise, employers would be stuck having to read their employees’ minds.
Former employees who sue over their discharge sometimes try to use their employers’ shifting explanations for the termination as evidence that they were fired for discriminatory reasons.
What you designate as essential functions in a job description can make all the difference when faced with an employee who is demanding reasonable accommodations for a disability.
A new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board has defined a joint employer as one that exercises “direct and immediate” control over worker activities. For employers, that’s a welcome return to normal after two years of uncertainty.
