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Employment Law

The HR I.Q. Test: September ’08

08/21/2008
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

You won’t work Sundays?! EEOC guide explains religious accommodations

08/21/2008

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and applicants based on their religion. The EEOC recently published guidance to help employers deal with employees’ religion-based questions regarding time off, free speech, religious clothing and more …

When disciplining, focus on problems unrelated to FMLA or ADA disability

08/19/2008
You don’t have to fear being sued for ADA or FMLA violations just because you discipline a disabled person. Just as with any other employee, you can discipline if you focus on the tasks not completed and the rules broken. When it comes to attendance infractions, carefully document tardiness and absences that are not related to the employee’s disability or serious health condition …

Firing OK if FMLA return date isn’t honored

08/19/2008
When an employee goes out on FMLA leave, set a return date and stick to it. If she doesn’t show up back to work and doesn’t ask for an extension or a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, you are free to terminate her, effective at the end of the leave …

Suit: Lawmakers discriminated when they fired transsexual

08/19/2008
Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, a transgender former legislative editor in the Georgia General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel, filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging she was fired after she told higher-ups she would begin coming to work as a woman …

Pending legislation would change labor relations landscape

08/19/2008
Presently pending before Congress are two bills that could dramatically change labor relations across the United States. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish a new system that would enable employees to form and join labor unions. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 would bolster unionizing efforts among police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers nationwide …

Can we withhold pay from workers who clock in early?

08/19/2008

Q. Some of our nonexempt employees occasionally begin work before their established starting times. We’ve always paid them for this time, but I’ve recently read that Georgia employers don’t have to pay an employee for such time if the early start was not approved in advance. Is this true? …

Legal risks of interviewing transgender applicants

08/19/2008
Raul Lopez Jr. is a biological male who presents himself as Izza Lopez, a female. When Lopez applied for a job at a medical clinic, he listed both his male and female names on the application. The company offered Lopez the job, but the HR director demanded to know his biological sex. Then the clinic rescinded the offer …

‘One who hired also fired’ doesn’t remove discrimination hook

08/15/2008
It’s logical, right?  When the same person who hired and promoted an employee eventually terminates that employee, there couldn’t have been any discrimination. After all, the hiring supervisor didn’t discriminate at selection time, so why would she discriminate at discharge time? Unfortunately, employers can’t rely solely on this same-actor defense in court …

Denying FMLA leave could make you liable for lost wages

08/15/2008
If an employer denies legitimate FMLA leave and that denial, in turn, causes an employee to miss work because he becomes depressed or stressed, the employer may have to pay lost wages for those missed days. That’s what the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a unique case that could have far-reaching effects …