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Employment Law

Remember, you—not employee—choose ADA accommodation

12/12/2008

Employees who need some form of reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of their jobs may have very specific ideas about the best way to accommodate their needs. But those may not be best for the employer. Employers are free to offer the accommodations they prefer as long as they are effective.

Public employers: Consider rights before axing protesters

12/12/2008

The relationship between government entities and their employees can get contentious. Sometimes, those employees may even protest what they perceive as poor public policy choices on the part of their employers. As long as employees follow all the rules and protest or speak out on their own time, don’t respond angrily and punish them.

An ADA accommodation that doesn’t make scents

12/12/2008

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff gave Susan McBride, a Detroit Planning and Development Department employee, approval to proceed with her lawsuit over a co-worker’s perfume.

Coffee pot: $32. Keeping your job: priceless

12/12/2008

Under pressure to meet a shrinking budget, The Van Buren Public School District recently notified teachers that it would charge a fee for keeping small appliances in their classrooms. Teachers will have to pay $13 for a microwave, $32 for a coffee pot and $182 for a mini-fridge.

Four companies cited for worker injury

12/12/2008

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) fined four companies roughly $40,000 apiece for an accident last year while the Durant Hotel in Flint was being demolished.

Cut your risk! Have HR make firing decisions

12/11/2008

Here’s another good reason to insist that HR handle all terminations: It’s much harder for employees to sue the company for its supervisors’ alleged harassment or discrimination if the HR office has primary responsibility for discharge decisions. Here’s why …

Don’t consider FMLA absences when firing

12/11/2008

Employers can’t punish or otherwise hold it against employees for taking FMLA leave—that’s interfering with FMLA rights, and it’s illegal. That’s why it’s important to exclude FMLA leave when making any disciplinary decisions based on employee absences.

Marion veterans hospital to pay for hiring lethal doctor

12/11/2008

The VA Medical Center in Marion has agreed to pay $975,000 to Katrina Shank, whose husband, Robert Shank III, bled to death after former staff surgeon Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez operated on him.

Beware reverse discrimination risk of overly aggressive minority recruiting

12/11/2008

It goes without saying that employers shouldn’t discriminate based on race, age, sex or other protected characteristics. But favoring people based on those protected characteristics can lead to another problem—reverse discrimination.

Formal contract not necessary for employee to bring wage claim under IWPCA

12/11/2008

Under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, employees can sue their employers if they believe they are owed money, including promised commissions and the like. The law doesn’t require that the money owed be promised in a binding, written contract.