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New York

Planning to fire expectant mom? Prove problems predated pregnancy

10/24/2013
Ordinarily, if an employer can show it decided to terminate an employee before she announced her pregnancy, a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit won’t succeed. But employers that try to make a better case for termination by whipping up a new performance appraisal that emphasizes poor performance can wind up handing the employee an easy lawsuit victory.

Lady Gaga assistant’s suit moves closer to trial

10/14/2013
Jennifer O’Neill, former personal assistant to entertainer Lady Gaga, is one step closer to getting her day in court. She claims Mother Monster kept her on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for over a year. Her lawsuit seeks overtime pay for every hour of each of those days.

Paying workers with debit cards isn’t as easy as it seems

10/10/2013
More employers are pushing their workers to receive pay via debit cards. But not all employees want to be paid that way—and the law is often on their side.

The NLRB invalidates employer’s confidentiality rule

10/10/2013
Employers have long believed that they could restrict access to information about wages and benefits so employees couldn’t discuss pay rates, raises and so on. If that’s the case at your workplace, check with your attorney. The prohibition may run afoul of the NLRA, which covers the right to unionize.

Merrill Lynch agrees to settle race bias suit for $160M

10/10/2013
Merrill Lynch will pay $160 million to 1,200 black brokers who have worked for the Wall Street giant since 2001. The plaintiffs’ attorneys alleged that Merrill Lynch (now owned by Bank of America) engaged in “systemic” discrimination.

Bronx KFC turns away veteran with service dog

10/10/2013
A manager and an employee at a Bronx Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant are being sued after they told a disabled Iraqi war veteran he had to leave because he had a dog with him. The vet tried to explain that his dog, named Valor, was a service animal.

Boss expresses obvious bias? That’s a firing offense

10/10/2013
When a supervisor expresses clear illegal bias, fire her. Otherwise, her attitude may taint any subsequent termination decisions involving members of the protected class the manager harbors resentment about.

Retaliation after 4 years have gone by? Yes, in some cases

10/10/2013
Don’t ignore applicants who have filed prior EEOC complaints against your organization. Give them a fair opportunity to compete for jobs.

Develop foolproof plan for taking uncertainty out of ambiguous resignations

10/10/2013
Not sure what to do when it seems as if an employee is going to quit, but she doesn’t explicitly say so? Seek clarification. If you get none, tell her you assume her silence is tantamount to a resignation.

ADA: Making accommodations doesn’t mean you accept that employee is disabled

10/10/2013
Consider this when deciding whether to offer a simple and cheap accommodation to an employee who claims he’s disabled: Offering help doesn’t mean you accept that he’s disabled. You can still challenge his status under the ADA if he sues.