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Employment Law

Your Best Defense: Prevention

01/22/2010

HR Law 101: When drugs don’t seem to present a problem in a workplace, it’s easy to develop a cavalier attitude about them. That’s not very smart. Drug abuse often begins with a single offender and then spreads out ­malignantly. Experts say your best defense is to detect drug abuse when it first appears and to root it out immediately …

Work restrictions? Seek job accommodations

01/22/2010

It can be frustrating and confusing to deal with a supposedly disabled employee. Because the ADA measures each individual’s disability by what he or she can’t do, employers can never be certain they’re in the right if they reject a disability claim. That’s one reason many employers conclude the safest approach is to make accommodations even if they aren’t entirely sure the employee is disabled.

Tell managers: No talk of hiring preferences

01/22/2010

As hard as it is to believe, some managers still think they can use sex or race as the reason to hire one qualified applicant instead of other qualified candidates. Of course, that’s wrong, and it could trigger a discrimination lawsuit if word gets out. That’s why you should remind everyone involved in the hiring process that his or her decision must be blind to personal characteristics.

Vanguard settles Charlotte race bias case for $300,000

01/22/2010

The financial services firm Vanguard Group has settled a racial discrimination complaint with the EEOC for $300,000. The case involved Barbara Alexander, a black applicant for a financial planning manager position at Vanguard’s Charlotte office.

When technological change means jobs are changing too, document the training you offer

01/22/2010

For years, one of the biggest drivers of improved worker productivity has been better technology in the workplace. But all that technological innovation means that employees who want to keep up must be open to training. How you handle that training can make a big difference when the time comes to lay off employees you no longer need because your company has become more efficient or whose skills have become obsolete.

OK to aggressively question suspected thieves—as long as your intent isn’t malicious

01/22/2010

Some employees are light-fingered, and it isn’t always easy to catch them stealing. Loss-prevention staff often presses hard when interviewing employees they suspect are pilfering. That’s appropriate, as is reporting the case to police. As the following case shows, aggressive questioning during an initial investigation doesn’t equal malicious intent.

Union contract doesn’t cover ‘donning and doffing’? You may not have to pay

01/22/2010

For many employers, it’s hard to imagine any advantage in having a union workplace, so this news may come as a bit of a surprise. At least under some limited circumstances, having a unionized workforce may protect some employers from FLSA lawsuits related to putting on and taking off protective gear before and after a shift.

Whistleblower Act suits must relate to, well, whistle-blowing

01/22/2010

A recently discharged state employee has lost a case in which he claimed every North Carolina state agency could be sued for work-related claims because of the passage of the North Carolina Whistleblower Act.

EEOC sees near record year in 2009

01/22/2010

Workplace discrimination charges filed with the EEOC in the 2009 federal fiscal year reached the second-highest number ever. Thirty-six percent of EEOC charges involved race discrimination, retaliation or both. Sex-based discrimination was the third most-common charge, at 30%.

DOL proclaims EFAST2 is up and running

01/22/2010

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA) electronic filing system is now online. Employers that must file forms 5500 and 5500-SF must now do so electronically.