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Employment Law

Ballot initiatives in several states and cities usher in employment law changes

11/21/2008

While the Obama victory grabbed the headlines on Election Day, voter referendums in several states and cities ushered in important employment law changes. Here are some key results.

California labor laws apply to nonresidents who perform work in the state, court rules

11/21/2008

If your organization sends employees into California to do work, take note of an important new 9th Circuit ruling.

New USERRA poster released, but replacing your old poster isn’t required

11/21/2008

Contrary to what you may be hearing from poster companies, U.S. employers do not need to replace their workplace posters that notify workers of their rights under Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Exhibit A: What not to ask applicants for HR jobs

11/21/2008

Frank Bruno aced his first round of interviews for an HR director job at Unitek USA in Pennsylvania. But during his final interview, one of the company’s board members asked the 55-year-old Bruno, “How old are you, 78?”

‘Hey, lady! That’s a man’s job!’

11/21/2008

Maybe a long, long time ago, in a far, far away place, folks used to tell women, “Oh, you can’t do that … it’s a man’s job.” Maybe the work was too heavy, muddy or risky? But welcome to 2009, where jobs are no longer classified by gender. Better check to make sure your hiring managers understand that, too!

Must we pay for hours lost due to power failure?

11/21/2008

Q. We recently had a power outage and called employees who weren’t in yet to tell them to come in when the power was back up. We then gave these people a chance to make up the lost time by working late or using paid time off. Do we have to pay them for the hours they missed?

Can we make employees use sick leave for FMLA?

11/21/2008

Q. Our employees earn paid sick and vacation leave. Can we require them to use their paid leave at the same time they take unpaid FMLA leave? Otherwise, it seems as if they could use up paid leave and still take 12 unpaid weeks off.

How to merge workers’ comp and FMLA

11/21/2008

Q. One of our employees was injured on the job. She went to the hospital the same night, had surgery and was out of work for eight days. Can we apply FMLA leave or sick leave to that time, even if she ends up being paid through workers’ comp?

Can we require worker to wear hearing aid?

11/21/2008

Q. An employee with severe hearing loss refuses to use his hearing aid. He works in a loud environment with forklifts and other hazards. Can we force him to wear the hearing aid or otherwise remove him from the floor? We think he’s endangering himself because he can’t hear someone warning him about a hazard.

Exception covers some, not all, church staff

11/20/2008

Churches, church schools and other religious institutions don’t always have to follow federal employment laws. That’s because religious entities are entitled to operate free of interference with their religious practices—if the employees in question are part of that religious practice.