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Employment Law

California Supreme Court redefines ’employer’

06/18/2010
The California Supreme Court has ruled that California law on who is or is not an employee goes beyond the definition contained in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and includes a broader measure of who is an employer.

How to write a tough, but legal, at-will statement

06/17/2010
Q. We want our employees to know that they don’t have guaranteed employment. Can you provide an example of a tough at-will statement that we can give them?

Commercial pilots claim FAA retirement plan violates state law

06/16/2010
When Congress raised commercial pilots’ mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65, not all pilots were pleased. Pilots who had previously been forced to retire at age 60 weren’t grandfathered into the new system. Now the pilots are seeking back pay and lost wages under state laws and the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Favoring clear accent might not be discrimination

06/16/2010

Students often complain about foreign professors whose accents they have trouble understanding. Those concerns can be a legitimate reason for a university to hire a candidate with better communications skills. That’s true even though accent discrimination can be construed as national-origin discrimination.

Independent review protects against hidden supervisor bias

06/16/2010

Despite your best efforts, a rogue supervisor occasionally slips through. He may harbor discriminatory attitudes that can color his termination and disciplinary decisions. But you can cut that chain by doing a little independent digging into what really happened. Then document your efforts to get both sides of the story.

Don’t tolerate threats, even if they occur during conversation about possible discrimination

06/16/2010

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for complaining. That protection, however, isn’t unlimited. There’s a huge difference, for example, between an employee who calmly reports that he has been discriminated against and someone whose complaints sound more like threats of physical harm.

Stop lawsuits before they start: Set clear process for posting job opportunities

06/16/2010

It seems logical enough: Employees shouldn’t be able to sue over promotions they never applied for. But in some cases where positions were never posted, employees have successfully sued, alleging they would have applied had they known there was an opening. Fortunately, the 11th Circuit won’t allow those employees an automatic win …

State tax workers: No Bonnie and Clyde

06/15/2010
Some criminals think big. Then there’s Stefan Arteaga-Pitzenbauer, an employee of the New Jersey Division of Taxation’s unclaimed property office who thought he had hatched a foolproof get-rich-quick scheme.

No policies, no job descriptions, no training: A case study in how not to hire & promote

06/15/2010

Sometimes, the best lessons are learned from the worst examples. That’s often the case with HR management. When employers make big mistakes and have to pay for them in court, other employers with good practices—that maybe need just a little tweaking—can discover what not to do. Here’s a good example.

Make sure employees–and bosses and HR–know exactly how to call in FMLA absences

06/14/2010
Make sure your entire staff is on the same page when it comes to responding to FMLA requests. Decide on a contact person and set a policy that lets all employees know. Create a log for recording all incoming FMLA communications. Remember, certifications may come directly from medical providers, who are likely to use fax or mail delivery.