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Employment Law

Check for subordinate bias before disciplining boss

09/14/2009

Here’s a problem you may not see coming: A group of employees comes forward and complains about a supervisor’s management skills. You decide to take action and demote the supervisor. Before you act, check for potential bias if the supervisor is of a different ethnicity, race or other protected classification than the subordinates.

Recovered addict not automatically disabled

09/14/2009

Employees who have successfully dealt with drug addiction but don’t have any current or continuing drug problems are not disabled under the ADA , as the following case shows.

Fired driver files suits over false-positive drug test

09/14/2009

A recent Illinois case illustrates how employers can get into expensive litigation if their drug-testing vendors don’t follow proper procedures when conducting random drug tests.

Age discrimination harder to prove following 7th Circuit ruling

09/14/2009

The 7th Circuit’s recent opinion in Martino v. MCI represents the first opportunity for that court to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently clarified standard for determining liability in disparate-treatment cases brought under the ADEA. Together, the two decisions make it harder for employees to win some age discrimination lawsuits.

What’s the new law? Must we now provide health insurance to employees’ adult children?

09/14/2009

Q. I understand that Illinois has passed a new law requiring certain employer-provided insurance policies to cover an employee’s dependents who are up to age 26 (or up to age 30 in some instances). Which employers and which policies are affected by the new law?

Offensive employee? Go ahead and fire him

09/14/2009

Isolated comments may not create a hostile work environment, but they can mushroom into a bigger problem. That’s especially true if you don’t discipline those who offend. What to do: Don’t wait until you have a full-blown hostile environment on your hands. You can terminate the offender before harm is done.

Track rationale for all salary increases

09/14/2009

Employees who discover their colleagues are making more money for doing the same work often conclude that there can be only one reason—discrimination. Next stop: the office of an attorney, who will try to confirm the pay bias by comparing the disgruntled employee’s protected class status to those earning more.

Don’t nickel and dime ADA accommodations: Everything can’t be essential to the job

09/14/2009

Employers sometimes think they can get around the ADA requirements by calling every task in a job description “essential.” They hope they’ll be able to exclude anyone who can’t do absolutely every aspect of the job. But that strategy can backfire badly because not every task is essential.

In tough cases, safety first: Attempted suicide at work grounds for discharge

09/14/2009

Employers don’t have to put up with employees who pose a safety hazard to others—or themselves. While suicidal behavior may indicate an employee is suffering from a serious health condition under the FMLA or a disability under the ADA, it isn’t an excuse for violating safety rules.

The pendulum swings back: More courts hesitate to interfere with minor job changes

09/14/2009

Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier to prove retaliation by lowering the standard for what it would consider an adverse employment action, courts were finding retaliation in seemingly minor management decisions. As the following case shows, that’s not happening as much anymore.