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Ohio

Make sure employees understand the method you use to calculate FMLA leave

03/05/2012

Employers that don’t take the time and effort to understand the ins and outs of the FMLA do so at their peril. Courts are beginning to lose patience and have started assessing employers double damages for FMLA violations. Something as simple as not making sure employees understand what method you use to calculate FMLA leave entitlements can mean huge liabilities …

More union members in 2011, thanks to private-sector gains

03/05/2012
Changing economic conditions and favorable rule-making in Washington helped U.S. union membership in­­crease to 14.8 million workers last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Ohio, 13.4% of workers belong to a union.

Seek expert legal help when dealing with NLRB

03/05/2012

Employers that find themselves in the cross hairs of the National Labor Relations Board should get expert legal help, especially if charged with unfair labor practices. That’s because once the NLRB concludes you fired employees for engaging in protected activity, it is very hard to argue against those employees’ eventual reinstatement.

Reorg? Treat staffing decisions like hiring

03/05/2012

After companies merge, there are often too many employees for the remaining available positions. That’s especially true when the new entity also reorganizes operations. Some employees will wind up on the chopping block. Be careful how you choose termination candidates. The best approach is to treat the decision like a hiring or promotion.

Former employees to collect overdue profit-sharing funds

02/27/2012
Mentor-based North Coast Wood Products has settled a Department of Labor lawsuit alleging the company’s owner illegally diverted money from 11 participants in the now-defunct company’s profit-­sharing plan.

Just worried about discipline? Employee can’t sue yet

02/27/2012
Employees won’t get far if they try to sue their employer over discipline that has yet to occur.

NLRB’s latest crack at social media policy? What a mess!

02/03/2012
In late January, the National Labor Relations Board released an “Operations Management Memo” that purports to offer additional guidance to employers and HR professionals concerned about employees’ use of social media. I can sum up the NLRB’s report in three words: What a mess.

OSHA scratches surface, finds unexpected chicken problems

02/03/2012
Some companies are careless, some are unlucky. Apparently Case Farm Chickens is both. Not only is the company facing $288,000 in fines for 61 OSHA violations, but it experienced an ammonia leak the day OSHA inspectors showed up at its Wineburg facility.

Panera Bread gets double helping of bias litigation

02/03/2012
An Ohio Panera Bread franchisee faces an additional lawsuit charging racial discrimination in the wake of a manager’s suit that claims he was fired for refusing to follow a racist directive.

Quit over offensive graffiti? He can get unemployment

02/03/2012
Here’s another reason to act fast when an employee complains about offensive graffiti in the workplace: He can quit and collect unemployment compensation benefits.