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Employment Law

Investigate harassment even if employee complains belatedly

07/11/2008
What happens if an employee has tolerated mild harassment for years without complaining and then the behavior escalates? If the employee stops work, takes disability leave and then files a sexual harassment complaint, what should you do? …

Strong privacy policy can curtail rifling through files

07/11/2008
Employees who are involved in employment disputes often think they can simply gather up any evidence they find lying about and turn it over to their lawyers. Smart employers try to limit the damage that revealing such confidential information may bring by holding all employees to reasonable privacy and confidentiality rules …

Good news for less-Than-Perfect workplaces: No need to sweat the small stuff

07/11/2008
Employees sometimes unreasonably expect they will happily toil forever in a perfect workplace, full of harmony. But that simply isn’t going to happen. As long as squabbles and personality conflicts don’t turn into discrimination based on age, race, religion or another protected category, they simply don’t matter …

You can terminate employees on FMLA leave

07/11/2008
Employees who are in trouble often ask for FMLA leave. They seem to believe that asking for or taking FMLA leave protects them from disciplinary action. That’s a myth. The fact is, being on FMLA leave doesn’t protect employees from legitimate disciplinary action unrelated to their time off …

Gaming board compliance wars lead to suspension, lawsuit

07/11/2008
Patrick Devlin, a compliance officer for the Michigan Gaming Control Board and a former assistant attorney general, has a history of what the board has delicately termed “noncompliance.” Since 2003, Devlin has filed at least 19 grievance appeals with the Civil Service Commission …

Caution: Hiring applicant who signed noncompete spells trouble

07/11/2008
As noncompetition agreements become more and more popular with employers, it’s becoming easier for you to unknowingly hire someone who has already signed an agreement with a previous employer. All the ensuing complications lead more employers to ask themselves whether they should (or even can) legally hire an employee bound by a noncompete agreement with a former employer …

Using subcontractors during a strike

07/11/2008
Q. We are putting together a strike contingency plan. One option we have considered is subcontracting out certain jobs for the duration of a strike. Are we obligated to bargain with the union over subcontracting during a strike? Do we have to raise this issue with the union before the union goes out on strike? …

How far can MDCR investigation go?

07/11/2008
Q. Our company is responding to a charge filed with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR). The allegation relates to management’s treatment of one employee. However, during the investigation, the MDCR  asked us to produce various unrelated records—for example, promotion records. The charging party has made no claim that he was discriminated against with respect to any promotion. He has never even sought a promotion. How should we respond to this request? …

Applications and date of birth

07/11/2008
Q. We use a standardized employment application form. One of the questions on the form asks for the applicant’s date of birth. We have been told that it is illegal to ask for this information, as it might lead to age discrimination. Is this true? …

Discrimination-Free environment required, perfection a bonus

07/09/2008
The workplace has never been nor will it ever be utopia. Managers and supervisors won’t always see eye to eye with employees. Conflict is almost inevitable. Thus, courts don’t expect employers to provide perfect workplaces free of all strife. Judges expect employers to obey discrimination laws, but they also realize that not every slight or inconvenience is evidence of discrimination …