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Employee Relations

Supreme Court upholds ban on workplace racial slurs

07/01/2000
The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a lower court ruling that banned an employee from making racial slurs at work. In the case, a group of Latino employees sued …

Notify workers quickly that leave counts toward Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time.

07/01/2000
The 6th Circuit has endorsed a Labor Department regulation that says a company can’t count time under the FMLA unless it notifies the worker, within two days …

Put reasonable limits on who can take complaints

07/01/2000
Two female supermarket employees complained to a district manager that their store manager had sexually harassed them. The district manager promptly …

Stop ‘equal opportunity harasser’ even if law doesn’t cover you

07/01/2000
Steven and Karen Holman are not only married and work together in the same maintenance department, but they also filed suit together claiming sexual harassment …

Fix classification errors promptly or ‘window of correction’ will close

06/01/2000
A group of managers and registered nurses who worked for Santa Clara County, Calif., were classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), making …

Watch for warning signs of workers’ comp fraud

06/01/2000

Q. We’ve had a number of suspicious injuries at work this year. We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but how can we determine if these injuries are part of a workers’ comp insurance fraud scheme? —K.H., Mississippi

Have clear conduct rules or risk ADA nightmare

05/01/2000
A fight with a co-worker drove Manuella Dionisio Reed to tears. She was so upset that she had to leave work and ended up in the hospital for days. Reed, …

One tough, tearful job evaluation doesn’t equal emotional distress

04/01/2000
On Michael Jarrard’s first day back to work at United Parcel Service (UPS) after six weeks of leave for psychiatric care, his supervisor gave him a harsh 20-page …

You must pay for all work, even if it’s not authorized

04/01/2000

Q. In the October 1999 issue, you explained that nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week are entitled to overtime for all hours over 40, regardless of whether the overtime was authorized. Do we owe overtime if a nonexempt employee works more than his or her scheduled hours even if the total number of hours worked does not exceed 40? —J.P., Illinois

Poor performers still may collect unemployment

04/01/2000

Q. The job performance of one of our employees no longer meets our standards. While she used to be a good worker, she’s now making a lot of errors, coming in late from time to time and not getting along with her co-workers. We’ve talked to her about these issues, but her performance has not improved. If we fire her for poor performance—which we would consider termination for cause—will she be eligible to collect unemployment compensation? —W.T., District of Columbia