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Employment Law

The HR I.Q. Test: April ’10

04/20/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Even coffee-making may be compensable time

04/19/2010
The little things employees end up doing while getting ready for work can add up to a big overtime bill later. That’s because courts often see such preparatory work, even if it benefits the employee, too, as work that must be compensated. Consider this recent case involving making the morning coffee and breakfast before the start of a shift.

More leave after FMLA leave?

04/19/2010
Q. One of our employees recently completed 12 weeks of FMLA leave to care for an ill family member. She has now requested a 30-day leave to undergo chemical dependency treatment for alcohol abuse. Since she has already utilized all of her available FMLA leave, are we required to grant this most recent leave request?

Can we make employee pay cost of lost BlackBerry through payroll deductions?

04/19/2010
Q. One of our employees recently took a company-issued BlackBerry with him on a business trip. The employee lost the BlackBerry while out on the town, and the company would like to have him pay for a replacement. Can we deduct the cost of a replacement BlackBerry from his paycheck?

Use new EEOC guidance to review severance agreements

04/19/2010
Employers have a new primer from the EEOC on how to craft legally compliant severance agreements. Although Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements was designed to answer employee questions about severance agreements, it offers useful guidance to employers, too.

Rate of union membership fell in Minnesota in 2009

04/19/2010
According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Minnesota lost 30,000 union jobs last year, and the rate of union membership statewide declined a full percentage point from 16.1% to 15.1%.

Schwan’s must hand over demographic data in EEOC case

04/19/2010
Schwan’s, the Marshall-based frozen food company, must turn over data requested by the EEOC in a long-running sex discrimination case. Judge Janie Myeron ruled in favor of the EEOC’s subpoena requesting demographic data on employees who have entered the company’s management trainee program.

White Way says EEOC took it to the cleaners

04/19/2010

St. Paul-based White Way Dry Cleaners has paid $42,250 to a former employee who filed an EEOC pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. The case arose when Michelle Johnson was transferred from her job pressing clothes to a counter position after telling her bosses she was pregnant. White Way had a longstanding policy of transferring pregnant employees to protect them from chemicals used in the dry cleaning process.

Case dismissed? You may be able to recover attorneys’ fees

04/19/2010

You probably know that in many cases where the employee wins a discrimination lawsuit, the employer has to pay the employee’s attorney. Fortunately, the reverse may also be true—if you manage to win dismissal of a clearly frivolous claim.

USERRA retaliation rules mirror those in Title VII

04/19/2010
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act provides job protection for employees who serve in the military and prohibits retaliation against anyone—including co-workers—who participates in an investigation or proceeding to enforce the law. But petty aggravations aren’t retaliatory.