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Employment Law

Must you grant diabetic employees extra breaks as a disability accommodation?

05/15/2008
Diabetes is not automatically a disability under the ADA. But if an employee can prove her diabetes substantially limits at least one of her major life activities, such as eating, then the employee is legally disabled and protected by the ADA …

Federal minimum wage takes another 70-Cent jump in July—Rising to $6.55

05/15/2008
On July 24, the federal minimum wage will take the second step in the three-step increase that Congress approved last year. The wage floor will rise from its current $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour …

Effort to extend statute of limitation for filing pay-Bias lawsuits fails in Congress

05/15/2008
Federal anti-discrimination law gives employees either 180 or 300 days (depending on the state they live in) from the time of an alleged unlawful practice to file an employment discrimination claim with the EEOC. A bill pushed by Democrats this year would have changed the 180/300 days statute of limitation in pay discrimination cases in a more employee-friendly way …

Must you give employees Sundays off for ‘TV church’?

05/15/2008

If employees ask for Sundays off from work for religious reasons, must they attend services in an actual church or synagogue that day? A new court ruling clarifies that the answer is “no” …

The HR I.Q. Test: June ’08

05/15/2008
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Pre-Employment tests: Do yours meet the new EEOC guidelines?

05/15/2008
In December, the EEOC issued new guidance on employment tests and selection procedures under three laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The key to complying is to make sure each employment test is directly job-related and focuses on business necessity …

What counts as an ‘FMLA week’: 40 hours?

05/15/2008

Q. How should I calculate the number of hours to charge to an employee’s 12-week FMLA entitlement? We have employees who work 40, 55 and 64 hours per week. Do we give them a 12-week cap or do we extend the weekly amount to cover the amount of weeks it would take to cover 480 hours (which assumes a “standard” 40-hour week)?


Putting employee on FMLA leave: Who decides?

05/15/2008
Q. I’m confused about medical certifications and employees who don’t want to use FMLA leave. Can I, if I believe the employee is out for an FMLA condition, force him to take FMLA leave? — A. B., Florida …

Co-Worker couples: FMLA leave cut in half

05/15/2008
Q. I’ve heard that if both parents work for the same company and they have a child, they’re only allowed to take a combined 12 weeks of FMLA leave. Is that true? — J.S., Pennsylvania

OK to fire and then investigate—But be consistent

05/14/2008
It’s legitimate to discipline or fire employees who behave badly. But employers that mandate suspension or termination for rule violations must apply the policy to everyone who violates the same rule. Then they should follow up with a prompt and thorough investigation into exactly what happened …