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Employment Law

Do promotion criteria rely on company or job seniority?

04/01/2008
If your organization uses seniority as a factor in making promotion decisions, make sure you think through what sort of seniority you really want to use—company seniority or job seniority. Make sure managers and employees alike understand which type of seniority counts for promotions …

Employees who agree to arbitration lose federal option in FMLA, NJLAD cases

04/01/2008
Employees who agree that they want an arbitrator to handle their absenteeism claims shortly after they have been disciplined can’t later file a federal FMLA or New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) claim …

Former Trop owner fined for business problems, while union vote is overturned

04/01/2008
Columbia Sussex, former owner of the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, asked for an extension to pay a state-imposed fine of $750,000 until the property is sold. Meanwhile, an NLRB administrative law judge overturned an October 2007 election in which Tropicana security workers rejected union representation …

Prudential case may top $6 billion

04/01/2008
More than 350 current and former employees are seeking $6.5 billion in damages in a class-action lawsuit against Prudential Financial of Newark …

NLRB decision puts work-Preservation provisions in question

04/01/2008
Developers and general contractors, beware: The National Labor Relations Board has signaled it will take a closer look at work-preservation clauses. Work-preservation clauses typically limit subcontracting on construction projects to those companies that have signed on to a project labor agreement (PLA) …

Automate applications to end failure-to-promote claims

04/01/2008

If you want to avoid needless failure-to-promote claims, create an automatic application process, and make sure managers and all employees understand how the new system works. Courts have said that if employees let their supervisors know they may be interested in a promotion, those employees don’t actually have to apply to claim they were discriminated against in the process …

Troublesome trainee? Document difficulty from Day One

04/01/2008
Managers and supervisors tend to cut some slack for new employees. After all, novice employees need training before mastering new skills. But if a trainee is beginning to look like she’s not catching on, it’s time to document her efforts and results—plus those of her fellow trainees. Here’s why …

Caution! Sometimes arbitration costs employers more, not less

04/01/2008
Arbitration is frequently billed as an inexpensive and quick way to handle employment law claims without incurring the high cost of litigation. That’s why many employers are so eager to have employees sign agreements that require arbitration of workplace claims. But sometimes that strategy backfires …

Staff sour on union? Let NLRB handle decertification vote

04/01/2008
Sometimes, employees learn that having union representation might not be as good a deal as they initially thought. If that’s the case, you may find that some employees approach management about the possibility of ousting the union. Before you jump for joy, think carefully about how to go about becoming a nonunion workplace again …

If you need to discipline, verify facts with several sources

04/01/2008
Discipline is always a sensitive issue, especially if the employee in question has filed previous discrimination complaints or a lawsuit. Even if the employer won previous battles, the employee may actually view any discipline as another chance to attack the company—with a retaliation lawsuit. Here’s the best way to handle further discipline …