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Ohio

Harassment by text: Is this my problem?

11/09/2009

Q. An employee complained that a co-worker was sending her sexually suggestive text messages and leaving inappropriate comments on her Facebook “wall.” Do I have any obligations to investigate?

What wage-and-hour records must we track?

11/09/2009

Q. What are my responsibilities as an employer for maintaining employees’ wage records?

Can I hold obesity against job applicants?

11/09/2009

Q. Can I implement a rule against hiring people who are overweight?

Working-conditions study presents compliance tune-up opportunity

10/20/2009

According to a recent working-conditions survey, many employers are not doing the routine maintenance they should to keep their labor and employment compliance in tip-top shape. There’s no guarantee that tuning up your workplace policies like you do your car will avoid lawsuits. But, some routine preventive maintenance will go a long way to ensuring better compliance and fewer problems.

High court upholds firing lactating worker

10/05/2009

Although state and federal laws protect new mothers from discrimination, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled it was legitimate for an employer to fire an employee who did not ask for an accommodation to pump breast milk. The court concluded that the employer didn’t discriminate on the basis of sex, but simply terminated an employee for insubordination.

Ohio retirees to see refunds following Merrill Lynch’s bull

10/05/2009

Ohio Attorney General Richard Codray announced that a settlement with Merrill Lynch means the State Teachers Retirement System will be among the investors set to gain after the brokerage firm misstated earnings expectations before the housing market tanked a year and a half ago.

Abercrombie & Fitch docked $115,000 for disability bias

10/05/2009

Abercrombie & Fitch has been fined $115,000 for discriminating against an autistic customer at a Minneapolis store. Fourteen-year-old Molly Maxson, accompanied by her mother and sister, wanted to try on clothes at the store. But store employees stopped Molly’s sister from entering a dressing room to help her.

Don’t consider FMLA leave when tallying employee’s ‘excessive’ absences

10/05/2009

You’re asking for trouble if you consider FMLA leave-related absences a negative factor when making employment decisions. Courts view such decisions as direct evidence of retaliation—which makes it almost impossible for the employer to win a lawsuit.

You’ve got mail—and you might have a lawsuit if your e-mails are too casual

10/05/2009

E-mail—often quick and informal—is the standard for most business communications these days. But if you’re too casual in the way you word e-mails, you could wind up in lots of legal trouble, as the following case shows.

Accept public funds? Then don’t use religion as basis for making employment decisions

10/05/2009

Businesses and nonprofits that receive taxpayer money and contract with government agencies to provide services may be prohibited from using religious criteria in hiring and firing. And hiring on the basis of someone’s religious beliefs or affiliation may be proof that an employer has crossed the line.