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Employment Law

Calculating the time-worked threshold for FMLA eligibility

05/17/2010

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee “must have been employed for at least 1,250 hours of service” with his or her employer during the 12 months prior to the commencement of the FMLA leave. That seems simple enough. But in the world of FMLA administration, nothing is as simple as it seems.

Orland Park janitorial company faces discrimination charges

05/17/2010
The EEOC has filed suit against RJB Properties Inc., of Orland Park, charging that the company discriminated against Hispanic employees because of their national origin, sexually harassed a male employee, and retaliated against employees who objected to the discrimination against Latino employees.

Bakery settles after allegations of harassment against Mexicans

05/17/2010

Gonnella Bakery has settled with Mexican workers at its plant in Aurora who claimed they were harassed because of their national origin. The workers said one manager often made derogatory comments about Mexican workers and consistently assigned them more difficult duties and work schedules.

State wrongful discharge suit fails without actual firing

05/17/2010

Under many federal employment laws, employees don’t have to be fired to sue for wrongful termination. Instead, they can claim constructive discharge, alleging they had no choice but to quit. But that argument won’t fly for employees who try to sue their Illinois employers for common-law wrongful termination.

Dismissed criminal charge doesn’t require reinstatement

05/17/2010

When an employee is charged with a criminal offense that reflects on his ability to perform his job, many employers suspend or even fire the employee. If he’s acquitted, must he get his job back? Not necessarily.

When reasonable accommodation is time off, it’s OK to count it as FMLA leave

05/17/2010
Employees whose disabilities require reasonable accommodations in the form of breaks or a modified schedule don’t get to save their FMLA leave for later use. Employers are free to subtract the time off from any FMLA hours available.

Don’t believe it: Employee facing discipline can’t quit and then claim constructive discharge

05/17/2010

Some employees quit and then argue that they had no choice but to do so. This is known as “constructive discharge.” Such a claim can succeed in court if the employee can show that working conditions became so intolerable that quitting was the only reasonable response. But an employee can’t quit and claim constructive discharge just because he’s facing potential disciplinary action.

You don’t have to create employee’s ‘perfect’ job when accommodating disability

05/17/2010

Some disabled employees go to great lengths to hide their conditions—perhaps out of pride or fear that they’ll be discriminated against. They may look long and hard for a perfect job that allows them to work without any sort of accommodation. But what happens if the disabled employee who has, in effect, managed to secretly “self-accommodate” is moved to another position? Can she request that she move back to her old, perfect position?

Illinois union jobs jump despite poor economy

05/17/2010
According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois gained 12,000 union jobs last year, and the rate of union membership jumped almost a full percentage point, from 16.6% in 2008 to 17.5% in 2009. Illinois is bucking the nation’s broader union job loss trend. Nationwide, union jobs took a proportionately bigger hit during the economic downturn than nonunion jobs did.

Offhand remarks don’t prove age discrimination

05/17/2010

Employees can’t win age discrimination lawsuits based solely on an offhand remark referring to an employee’s age. That’s because, unlike many other forms of employment discrimination, age discrimination cases require employees to prove that age was the reason for termination or some other negative employment action. Unless there’s more evidence, a mere comment isn’t enough.