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Employment Law

How much notice are employees required to give when they need FMLA leave?

10/02/2009

Q. Can our employee take FMLA leave without first giving us notice that she needs leave?

Is our affirmative action plan a Catch-22?

10/02/2009

Q. Our company maintains an affirmative action plan. I’m concerned, however, that if we refuse to hire a white applicant because of the plan, that person might be able to sue us for discrimination. Yet, if we don’t follow the plan, minority applicants can sue us. It seems like a Catch-22. What do we do?

Can employers force older workers to retire?

10/02/2009

Q. Can we legally set a mandatory retirement age for our workers?

New health coverage rules for dependent kids start Nov. 8

10/02/2009

A new federal law takes effect Nov. 8 that extends eligibility for group health insurance coverage to some dependent children age 18 or older who are higher-education students.

U.S. Department of Labor approves Illinois’ OSHA plan

10/02/2009

Illinois has received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to administer its own occupational safety and health plan for state and local government employees. The federal OSHA law doesn’t cover state and local public employees.

It’s final: Federal contractors must use E-Verify

10/02/2009

The federal government’s requirement that contractors confirm employee eligibility through Homeland Security’s E-Verify database has overcome its final legal hurdle. Several government contractors had sued to block implementation of the online verification requirement, but a federal court decision in Maryland cleared the way for it to take effect.

Quitting time? Performance improvement plan not enough to justify discrimination lawsuit

10/01/2009

Performance improvement plans (PIPs) are great tools to help underperforming employees come up to standards. But some employees think they can file a lawsuit anytime they are placed on a PIP or are justified in quitting. As the following case shows, that’s not necessarily true.

Protected activity can include protesting racial comment

10/01/2009

In some circumstances, all it takes to launch a retaliation lawsuit is a supervisor’s isolated, insensitive comment , as the following case shows.

Suing under CEPA bars related claims

10/01/2009

Here’s a bit of good news for employers. When an employee sues her employer under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), she can’t add additional common-law claims (such as defamation) based on the same facts. That means no second bite at the litigation apple.

N.J. workers’ comp scofflaws now face stiffer penalties

10/01/2009

This summer, Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a bill raising fines for employers that knowingly fail to provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees. The new law also sets higher penalties for employers that misrepresent employees as independent contractors.