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Ohio

When supervisors leave subordinates in tears, don’t hesitate to demote or fire them

11/29/2010

Some people aren’t cut out to be supervisors. Too bad employers don’t always realize that until a steady stream of subordinates make their way to HR with complaints. If it appears obvious that there’s a problem with the supervisor and not his subordinates, document the complaints and take action.

How to Collect Employee Medical Info Under New FMLA Rules

11/10/2010
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Southern Ohio contractor settles race bias lawsuit

11/08/2010

Mareo R. Allen will get his job back at Mike Enyart & Sons Inc., after the construction firm—located in South Point, near the West Virginia border—agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination suit filed on Allen’s behalf. Allen alleged he was fired in retaliation for complaining about racial harassment while working on a sewer-line installation project.

Mineral Met hung out to dry following noose incident

11/08/2010
Chemical company Mineral Met has agreed to pay $440,000 to settle an EEOC race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed on behalf of black employees at its Cleveland plant.

Sometimes discrimination claims can bypass the EEOC

11/08/2010
Suppose an employee claims her organization illegally discriminated against someone on the basis of disability—and then the employee is fired. If the employee planned on suing, surely the employer would find out well in advance, because first the employee would have complained to the EEOC, right? Not necessarily.

Temp-to-permanent promotions the norm? Check for unintentional bias toward one group

11/08/2010

Sometimes it makes sense to appoint workers to temporarily fill vacancies and then use your formal promotion process to make permanent appointments. But that practice carries some risk. You could wind up in court if you make those temporary appointments permanent.

Establish zero-tolerance policy on violence and threats–but don’t count on backup from courts

11/08/2010

The almost universal employer response to increased workplace violence has been the implementation of so-called zero-tolerance policies. The problem with zero-tolerance rules is that they only work if they’re uniformly enforced. Employers can’t pick and choose which employee’s behavior violates the policy. To do so invites legal trouble, as the following case shows.

Heart condition isn’t always an ADA disability

11/08/2010

It’s understandable that someone who has had a heart attack and taken time off to recover might assume that he’s disabled under the terms of the ADA. That’s not always the case. As is true of other conditions, it’s only a disability if the heart attack’s residual effects substantially impair a major life function.

Don’t expect heroic catch-up after FMLA leave

11/08/2010

Exempt employees are generally expected to work as long and as hard as they need to in order to get their jobs done. But that doesn’t mean employers should expect exempt employees returning from FMLA leave to burn the midnight oil to get caught up if there was no plan in place to pick up the slack during the absence. Insisting on that is an invitation to be sued for retaliation.

If absenteeism not disability-related, feel free to discipline

11/01/2010

You should hold disabled employees to the same behavioral standards as other employees, unless there is a good disability-related reason to deviate from the rules. For example, if you set strict time limits for lunches and authorized breaks, there is no reason to give disabled employees more time unless allowing more time is a legitimate reasonable accommodation.