• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Older worker suddenly dinged? See you in court

12/08/2008

Judges are naturally suspicious. They regularly see the worst of humanity, and many don’t have the rosiest outlook on life. So when they hear that an employer suddenly disciplined an employee who has put in decades of service with nary a blot on her disciplinary record, they think “age discrimination.”

Busted settlement can’t revive bias suit

12/08/2008

Sometimes employees who have agreed to accept settlements in return for dropping discrimination claims change their minds—especially if they believe the employer didn’t deliver everything it promised in the settlements. They’d rather ditch the agreements and restart the original lawsuits. They can’t.

Be prepared to explain why offenses were similar but punishments differed

12/08/2008

Employers need flexibility when it comes to disciplining employees. But flexibility can’t come at the expense of members of a protected class. Be careful before you approve different punishments for the same or very similar rule violations.

Yes to Christmas tree and no to menorah does not religious discrimination make

12/08/2008

Your company probably put up a Christmas tree to brighten the workplace during the holiday season. And it is also possible that an employee suggested it might be nice to put up other symbols of the season, such as a menorah. If you rejected that suggestion, should you worry that you’ll be ringing in the New Year with a religious discrimination lawsuit?

Government employer alert: Firing because of spouse’s comments is unconstitutional

12/08/2008

Public employers, take note: If an employee has an outspoken spouse who chooses to voice concerns about the actions of the government agency, think twice before punishing the employee. It may amount to depriving the spouse of her First Amendment right to speak out on public issues.

Small age difference may support age bias claim

12/08/2008

Employees who claim they were fired or didn’t get hired because of age discrimination don’t have to prove that the employee who was hired or retained was younger than age 40. Instead, they need only show that the other employee was at least seven years younger.

Was state staffer ordered to check out ‘Joe the Plumber’?

12/08/2008

Vanessa Niekamp, senior child support manager at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said she feared for her job when she approached the inspector general about background checks performed on Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber” …

Headmaster gets nearly $1 million in retaliation case settlement

12/08/2008

Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville agreed to pay $950,000 after a federal jury found that it fired James Whiteman in retaliation for expressing concerns about possible pay inequities at the private school.

In search of the elusive ‘Abercrombie look’

12/08/2008

Dulzia Burchette, a black former saleswoman for the preppy-glam Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store chain in New York City, is suing the Ohio-based retailer for racial discrimination.

How frequently must employees be paid? What’s the rule on final paychecks?

12/08/2008

Q. How often do I have to pay my employees? Are there any rules that require payment upon termination within a specific time period?