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Employment Law

Justify ‘English-only’ rule on safety, service and efficiency—not simply preference

02/20/2020
Establishing language restrictions in the workplace isn’t automatically illegal. However, depending on how restrictive your rule is (and your reason for establishing it), an English-only policy could create liability under federal and state national-origin discrimination laws.

With EEOC on a roll, enforce your policies

02/20/2020
The EEOC has been active recently, addressing a wide variety of workplace harassment and discrimination cases. Here’s a sampling.

Settling still possible after catastrophic loss

02/20/2020
Here’s an important note for employers that lose lawsuits and get zapped with huge jury awards: Don’t give up trying to reach a settlement with the employee who sued.

Snapshot: Sources of EEOC disability discrimination charges

02/18/2020
Disability discrimination was the most common EEOC bias charge last year. Here are the five most frequent medical reasons for disability discrimination complaints.

OT salary level regs may affect 401(k), other plans

02/18/2020
If you reclassified some exempt employees as nonexempt in the wake of the new overtime salary threshold rules that went onto effect Jan. 1, you should now check your health benefit and 401(k) plan documents.

Comply with the law when requiring employees to work overtime

02/18/2020
In general, employers have the right to require employees to work overtime, as long as they are properly paid for the additional hours. However, that right is not unlimited.

Congressional Dems query JPMorgan about race bias

02/18/2020
Following an article in The New York Times detailing apparent discrimination by the JPMorgan Chase bank against black clients, several Democratic members of Congress have requested specific information from CEO Jaime Dimon.

Long Island restaurants must serve up $365k in back pay

02/18/2020
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has ordered the owners of three Long Island restaurants to pay 79 employees $365,000 in back pay and liquidated damages.

Telecommuting OK for some? Allow for pregnant staff, too

02/18/2020
If working from home is an option for some of your employees, be sure to consider it a possible reasonable accommodation for pregnant women who have temporary restrictions.

Signed offer letter can bind worker to arbitration

02/18/2020
If you use arbitration to resolve workplace disputes, you can bind new employees via a signed offer letter. Just make sure the letter states the basics, including what claims must be arbitrated.