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Employment Law

Downside of providing a recommendation on an employee’s social media page?

08/07/2009

Q. An employee has asked me, as his direct supervisor, to provide him a recommendation on his LinkedIn page. He’s a good employee and I don’t see any harm in granting his request. Are there any risks?

Can FMLA absences count against an employee’s attendance bonus?

08/07/2009

Q. We provide a perfect-attendance bonus to any employee who is not absent or tardy during the calendar year. If an employee’s only missed time is for a medical leave of absence, does the FMLA require us to nevertheless provide the perfect-attendance bonus?

Any problem firing employee who wants her exempt classification changed?

08/07/2009

Q. We have an employee whom we have classified as exempt, but wants to be classified as nonexempt and earn overtime. Frankly, she’s become a pain about the whole thing. Can we just fire her?

Use 7-point checklist to choose an employee assistance plan

08/07/2009

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which takes effect Oct. 3, has more employers worried about rising health insurance premiums—and looking to employee assistance programs as a way to keep costs down. The law prohibits group health plans covering 50 or more employees from imposing extraordinary coverage caps on mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Try out accommodation, rescind it if necessary

08/06/2009

Disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations that allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. If those accommodations turn out to be unreasonable—that is, they prove to be an undue burden on the employer—then they can be withdrawn. What it means: There’s no harm in trying an accommodation.

Court: We won’t micromanage hiring decisions

08/06/2009

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an employee who was passed over for a promotion can’t later use the poor performance of the person who got the job to prove the decision was discriminatory. The case shows that courts are willing to let employers make mistakes; they won’t micromanage hiring and promotion decisions.

NYC car washers clean up with $4.7 million in OT settlements

08/06/2009

The parent corporation of several New York City area car washes has agreed to settle overtime claims from 1,187 current and former employees for $3.4 million. Coupled with a previous settlement with 200 workers for more than $1.3 million, Lage Management has paid out more than $4.7 million in back pay and liquidated damages.

When talk turns to sex, watch out for harassment claims from unexpected victims

08/06/2009

If bosses question employees about sexual relationships, you could wind up facing a sexual harassment complaint. And it may not be a simple case of quid pro quo harassment, but rather a hard-to-defend hostile environment claim.

Don’t think a successful workers’ comp case lets you off the ADA accommodation hook

08/06/2009

Employees who are disabled after an injury on the job often apply for workers’ compensation. Receiving those benefits, however, isn’t a bar to asserting ADA and state disability claims, as a federal court hearing a New York case recently concluded.

Hiring independent contractor? Be prepared to document that he’s not an employee

08/06/2009

A recent federal court decision means you’ll now have to go the extra mile to prove that your worker is an independent contractor, not an employee. Advice: Take steps to document exactly why you believe someone is an independent contractor when you begin using his or her services.