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Employment Law

How brief a time increment must we use when granting FMLA intermittent leave?

05/11/2009

Q. An employee has requested one hour of unpaid intermittent FMLA leave. Can we require him to use up a half or full day of leave instead?

How should we handle bonuses and overtime?

05/11/2009

Q. We routinely pay our nonexempt employees an annual holiday bonus. What effect, if any, does this have on their regular rates of pay for purposes of calculating overtime?

Deny religious accommodations at your peril

05/11/2009

In a move that is surprising many, the EEOC has been taking on religious accommodations cases involving obscure and ill-defined religions. In one recent Florida case, the agency won the right to a jury trial for an employee who claims her religion requires her to wear a nose ring.

Note extraordinary offense when you must fire

05/11/2009

You have disciplinary rules for a reason. They tell employees what to expect and guide managers and supervisors so they don’t inadvertently treat employees who belong to a protected class more harshly than others. But disciplinary rules have to be a little flexible—loose enough to let you distinguish between minor infractions and major ones. Here’s how to strike the right balance.

Heaven-sent policy advice for supervisors: No proselytizing or urging workers to convert

05/11/2009

Employees have the right to practice their own religious beliefs—and not be subjected to proselytizing by their supervisors or others with influence over their work. Constant exhortations to be “saved” or otherwise renounce religious beliefs can create a hostile religious environment and great potential for a lawsuit.

Got a good reason to fire worker who has requested FMLA leave? Document and do it!

05/11/2009

Some employees are under the mistaken impression that merely asking for FMLA leave means they cannot be fired. That’s simply not true. Employees who take FMLA leave don’t have greater rights than other employees.

Issuing a reprimand? That’s not retaliation

05/11/2009

Don’t think that just because an employee has filed an internal or EEOC discrimination complaint, you have to treat him with kid gloves. You can and should manage the employee just like you would any other staff member. Rest assured, issuing a reprimand or other mild disciplinary actions isn’t enough to support a retaliation lawsuit.

Beware firing after employee files workers’ comp claim

05/11/2009

Florida employees are protected from retaliation for filing workers’ compensation claims. Any move that may be seen as punishment or retaliation—that comes shortly after an employee files for workers’ comp—may lead to a lawsuit based almost entirely on timing alone.

Law doesn’t cover blowing whistle on co-workers

05/11/2009

Florida employees are protected from retaliation for whistle-blowing, but courts have been limiting what they consider to be blowing the whistle. For example, in one recent case, a court concluded that a co-worker’s attempts to report a fellow pharmacy worker’s lax prescription practices was not whistle-blowing.

EEOC sues rehab center for failure to accommodate

05/11/2009

The EEOC has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Florida Institute for Neurological Rehabilitation of violating the ADA when it refused to accommodate a disabled employee’s request for training assistance.