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Employment Law

Don’t bend on disability accommodations if they could compromise safety

06/08/2009

It’s usually easy to accommodate employees’ everyday health problems, and employers should always be willing to consider making minor adjustments in work conditions. But be cautious about making accommodations that could affect workplace safety. Allowing an employee to bypass safety procedures or have a co-worker help her with them is almost always a bad idea.

Retain notes on salary negotiations to protect against pay discrimination claims

06/08/2009

We all understand that in a free-market system, it sometimes takes extra money to induce an applicant to leave one job for another. That’s all part of the hiring dance. But sometimes the end result is that an existing employee ends up earning less than a new employee who holds the same or a similar job and may sue for discrimination.

Tell bosses: Sexist comments can come back to haunt you

06/08/2009

If you haven’t recently reminded supervisors to keep anti-female comments to themselves, here’s a recent case
you can cite. Such comments will be viewed as direct evidence of discrimination. That practically guarantees a lawsuit if the employee is ever fired.

Good news: Courts reluctant to appoint free attorneys

06/08/2009

Even if it’s all in their heads, some employees think their co-workers and supervisors are out to get them. If they’re unable to find an attorney willing to take the case, they’ll often file the lawsuit themselves, asking the court to find and pay for an attorney. Fortunately, fewer and fewer judges are granting those requests.

EEOC gets crabby with Pembroke’s Club Gabys

06/08/2009

According to an EEOC lawsuit, when new management took over Club Gabys in Pembroke Pines, Fla., it stated its intention to “get rid of all the old and ugly people” and presumably replace them with young, beautiful and charming people like themselves …

Supreme Court decides Hulteen pregnancy discrimination case

06/08/2009

Claims of pregnancy discrimination have gained attention again with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen. In light of the decision, now is the time to conduct an audit of your practices, policies and plans to make sure they comply with the  Pregnancy Discrimination Act ’s requirements.

When can a Florida state agency terminate an employee for ‘disloyalty’?

06/08/2009

Q. Our state agency’s board is considering terminating a legal secretary who seems to have been a supporter of one of our attorneys who was discharged for both performance problems and being disloyal to our board. We understand that, under the patronage dismissal doctrine, we can terminate employees who supported the political opponent of our agency’s elective head. Can the board likewise discharge the legal secretary for her seeming disloyalty?

Can we get this suit dismissed? A former employee sued us and then filed for bankruptcy

06/08/2009

Q. One of our former employees filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company. She subsequently filed for bankruptcy, but failed to include the pending lawsuit as an asset in the bankruptcy estate. She eventually obtained a bankruptcy discharge. Will the company now be able to have her discrimination lawsuit dismissed?

OK to fire a bankrupt financial manager? We fear his ineptitude will chase customers away

06/08/2009

Q. One of our financial managers has filed for bankruptcy, and our directors now want to terminate him because they doubt his financial judgment. They’re also worried that customers will react negatively to the news that one of our finance people is going bankrupt. Can we lawfully discharge him?

Labor Department seeks more funds to boost enforcement

06/08/2009

U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ budget request to Congress includes funds to hire nearly 1,000 new employees, 670 of whom will be investigators. The plan calls for 200 more wage-and-hour Labor investigators and 160 additional OSHA gumshoes.