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Employment Law

Careful what you wish for at IBM

05/01/2008
Victory wasn’t so sweet for thousands of employees who sued Armonk-based IBM claiming the company had illegally classified them as exempt. IBM agreed to reclassify them, making them eligible for overtime pay. The catch? The company cut their salaries by 15% …

Allied Aviation pays $1.9 million to settle discrimination case

05/01/2008
Allied Aviation Services Inc., a New York-based provider of fuel services, settled an EEOC lawsuit for $1.9 million, following claims of persistent race discrimination at its facility at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport …

AAM strike rocks GM operations across North America

05/01/2008
A strike by workers at five American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings (AAM) plants in New York and Michigan led to temporary closures at more than a dozen General Motors plants in February and March …

Brooklyn bookseller pays $180,000 for discrimination

05/01/2008
Michael Schmuely, owner of Books for Less, a wholesale bookseller in Brooklyn, will pay $180,000 to 21 former employees to settle a federal race discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Schmuely frequently used the “n” word and referred to the warehouse as a “plantation” …

Can we enforce noncompetes against staff we’ve laid off?

05/01/2008
Q. Due to the competitive nature of our business, our sales force signs restrictive covenant agreements that prohibit them from working for a competitor for a six- month period. We are about to lay off some of these employees for lack of business. Is the covenant enforceable? …

Tell supervisors: No pregnancy comments allowed

05/01/2008
It seems simple enough: No one should make cracks or comments about an employee’s pregnancy. Still, supervisors and managers often say things they shouldn’t, which can come together to form the basis for a Pregnancy Discrimination Act lawsuit …

Keep selection process objective to ensure bias-Free hiring

05/01/2008
Human factors sometimes cloud the judgment of hiring managers—and could end up costing an organization if it finds itself on the losing end of a failure-to-hire lawsuit. That’s why it’s crucial to institute checks that prevent a hiring committee or manager from imposing subjective criteria on applicants …

Ignoring your military pay policy may be costly

05/01/2008
If, like many employers, you honor military service with special pay arrangements for those who serve their country, take note: If you don’t follow your own handbook, you may find a court ready to punish you with big damages …

Diverse workplace can raise reverse-Discrimination risk

05/01/2008
Not many employers discriminate against members of the majority, but that doesn’t mean it never happens. In fact, white employees do file reverse-discrimination lawsuits, claiming they have been singled out for poor treatment or harassment due to their race. Ironically, a work force that is more diverse may be at greater risk for such lawsuits …

In discrimination cases, don’t bet on Round 1 knockout

05/01/2008
Discrimination cases typically have two stages. First, the employee must show that he is a member of a protected class, was qualified for the job he held, suffered an adverse employment action and a similarly situated person not in the same protected class was treated more favorably. Some federal trial judges recently construed the “similarly situated” standard very restrictively …