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Employment Law

If worker on RIF list has sought reasonable accommodations, be prepared to justify

05/24/2010

Watch out! If you’re contemplating reducing your workforce in order to survive today’s harsh economic climate, you need to prepare for potential litigation. To do that, make sure you carefully document why you are making the reductions. That’s especially critical if you have been negotiating reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee who may be on your RIF list.

You don’t carry workers’ comp insurance? Prepare to face negligence lawsuits

05/24/2010

The workers’ compensation insurance system is based on the premise that employees hurt at work will recover lost wages without having to prove who was at fault for an injury. Employers that don’t carry workers’ comp insurance may be sued directly for negligence—and that means injured workers could win far higher awards for damages.

Walmart must defend against largest wage-and-hour class action in U.S. history

05/24/2010

Recently, the largest class-action lawsuit in U.S. history was given the go-ahead. Employers nationwide are waiting with bated breath to find out what happens to Walmart. While the exact number of employees who may find themselves part of the lawsuit is still unclear, it could reach well over 1 million women employed or formerly employed at 3,400 Walmart stores across the country.

DOL stops issuing wage-and-hour opinion letters

05/24/2010
Looking for an answer to your fact-specific FLSA or overtime question? For 50 years, employers could ask the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue an “opinion letter” to provide guidance. But the DOL stopped the practice in April, replacing the letters with “administrator interpretations.”

Unsatisfied whistle-blower may file lawsuit

05/24/2010
The California Supreme Court has clarified when a state employee may file a lawsuit alleging whistle-blower retaliation. The court concluded that if the employee doesn’t get satisfaction after an internal review, he or she can go to court for vindication.

Remember, same-sex harassment is illegal, too

05/24/2010
Take all claims of sexual harassment seriously, not just the ones involving members of the opposite sex. Don’t ignore same-sex harassment or think that it’s somehow less serious than other harassment.

No way to accommodate an employee’s disability? Then you don’t have to

05/24/2010

Employers are obligated to engage in an interactive accommodations process when disabled employees request an accommodation and one is possible. But if you’re confident it’s not possible to accommodate the disabled worker—that he would never be able to perform the job’s essential functions—then you don’t have to go through the motions.

Vacationing worker got flu: Can she call it sick leave?

05/20/2010
Q. One of our employees got the flu while she was out on vacation leave. Now she wants her vacation time back and wants to call those “sick days” instead. Do we have to let her change the status of this leave time?

New technologies, old problems: Social media in the workplace

05/18/2010

Social media is on the rise, creating many questions for employers. Should we use social media to develop business or recruit new talent? Should we let employees use Facebook and Twitter at work? What restrictions do we need? Can we monitor off-duty conduct? And what are the potential liabilities?

Are mortgage loan officers exempt?

05/17/2010
Q. I always thought that mortgage loan officers were exempt professional employees. Now I heard otherwise. Are mortgage loan officers exempt from the FLSA overtime requirements?