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Employment Law

Returning worker, FMLA leave and consecutive employment

07/07/2008
We have an employee who has worked for us for more than 12 months, but not 12 consecutive months (he left, and then we rehired him). Now this employee is requesting FMLA leave. Must the months of employment required to be eligible for FMLA leave be consecutive? …

Audit demographics to spot problems before anyone sues

07/02/2008
Sometimes it’s hard to spot employment discrimination problems even when they’re right under your nose. Consider, for example, age discrimination. Audit your hiring and firing records for the past few years. If the people your organization has let go are older on average than those you have hired or retained, chances are there is an age discrimination claim lurking in your HR records …

OK to use candidate observations to justify hiring decisions

07/02/2008
It’s legitimate to base hiring decisions on observations of how prospective employees will perform. Just be sure supervisors document any observations they make. If the person in question later sues you for some reason, you’ll be able to use those observations as legitimate justifications for your decision …

Back up even minor disciplinary action with solid records

07/02/2008
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Nothing wins lawsuits like good records. Tell all managers and supervisors that HR won’t approve any disciplinary action without a copy of the documentation used to justify the decision …

Need an incentive to settle? How about lower attorneys’ fees?

07/02/2008
Don’t let emotion get in the way of settling a case early on if it looks like the company may be liable. Dragging out the inevitable accomplishes just two things—neither of them good: (1) It adds to the fees you have to pay your own attorneys and (2) the fees you also may end up paying for the other side’s attorneys …

Warn supervisors: Over-the-Top, irrational behavior may mean personal liability

07/02/2008
Warn hot-headed supervisors that they risk personal liability if they don’t cool it. Employees claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress can sue the company and the supervisor personally, collecting from both …

Keep careful employee count—Exact numbers may pay off in lawsuit

07/02/2008
If a lawsuit involves several employees and Title VII violations, your legal bills could quickly grow. But the law caps damages depending on how many employees an employer had during the year in which the discrimination took place or the year before …

OSHA citations follow NYC window-Washing scaffold collapse

07/02/2008
OSHA has cited two companies for workplace safety violations that led to the deaths of two window washers in Manhattan last December. The workers fell 47 stories when their scaffolding platform detached from the window-washing rig attached to the building’s roof …

Tavern on the Green pays a big harassment tab

07/02/2008
Manhattan’s Tavern on the Green restaurant has agreed to pay $2.2 million for “severe and pervasive sexual, racial and national origin harassment of female, black and Hispanic employees.” The EEOC said sexual harassment at the Central Park landmark eatery included graphic comments and demands for sexual acts …

Nassau County SPCA faces sexual harassment suits

07/02/2008
Susan Collison of Massapequa, a former volunteer investigative sergeant with the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), is suing the society, the county and its leadership for sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation …