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Employment Law

OK to punish employees for disruptive acts–even if done in the context of protesting bias

04/23/2010
Employees are protected from retaliation for opposing discriminatory employer practices. But that doesn’t mean they can voice that opposition in a disruptive or discourteous way.

‘Cold shoulder’ isn’t a hostile environment

04/22/2010
One of the reasons employees can claim sex discrimination is if, according to the EEOC, “verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature … creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” Employees may believe that the slightest unkind word would constitute a hostile workplace, but courts often will set the bar much higher, as the following ruling shows.

No special treatment needed for pregnant staff

04/22/2010
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn’t guarantee pregnant employees any special treatment in the workplace. It simply says you must treat them “the same as any other temporarily disabled employee.” If your organization doesn’t allow other employees to take leave or be placed in light-duty positions, then pregnant employees aren’t entitled to such privileges either.

Health law amends FLSA to require ‘breastfeeding breaks’

04/21/2010
The new health care reform law includes a little-noticed provision that says employers must now provide “reasonable” unpaid break time and a private location (not a restroom) to allow nursing mothers to express milk.

Supreme Court hears arguments: Are employees’ personal text messages private?

04/20/2010

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments in a case that could settle the contentious issue of whether employers have a right to read personal text messages employees send using employer-provided equipment and bandwidth. Based on the Justices’ questions, it doesn’t sound good for the cop who sent racy texts to his wife — and his girlfriend.

Are applicant ‘blacklists’ legal?

04/20/2010

Employers typically don’t want to hire applicants who haven’t succeeded elsewhere. So they sometimes create a blanket “no-hire” rule for applicants who aren’t eligible for rehire by their former employers. Such a policy can give you cover against possible retaliation complaints. But if you’re tempted to draft such a policy, be careful: Make sure you enforce the rule uniformly.

¡Que chiste! Bilingual staffer fired for speaking Spanish

04/20/2010
When Ana Mateo was hired as a bilingual secretary for a school district, she never imagined her Spanish fluency would be her downfall. Now that the EEOC has taken up her case, somebody has some explaining to do — in federal court.

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?