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Employment Law

Is there a class action lurking in your employee handbook?

10/01/2007

Now may be a good time to review your employee handbook for potential big trouble. The problem: Because handbooks spell out policies that apply to many or all employees, they can be used to justify escalating a simple lawsuit into a class-action suit …

Fair discipline process is key to avoiding lawsuits

10/01/2007

Do you have an employee who grates on everyone’s nerves and makes unreasonable demands on subordinates? Are you afraid to discipline the employee because he or she belongs to a protected class (e.g., race, age, sex)? Fear no more! As long as you use a fair process to correct the employee’s shortcomings, chances are he or she won’t win a lawsuit …

Mere days of harassment mean lawsuit when ‘Constructive discharge’ is involved

10/01/2007

When it comes to sexual harassment under Ohio’s sex discrimination laws, a few days is all it takes to create a hostile work environment. Even if the harasser stops—instead turning critical and cold—the harassed employee may quit shortly after. Courts then will view the resignation as the effective equivalent of being fired in retaliation …

Don’t add insult to injury: Be careful what you say about litigious employees

10/01/2007

When a former employee sues and you think the lawsuit is frivolous, resist the temptation to belittle or punish the employee by discussing the case. Small talk can mean a big payday for a former employee who finds out and files a defamation lawsuit. What’s more, you could be personally liable if a jury finds you acted vengefully or with ill will. The best advice: Don’t discuss pending lawsuits. If you say nothing, you can’t be accused of slander …

Ohio poised to mandate generous family leave

10/01/2007

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission has proposed a new statewide policy to guarantee 12 weeks’ maternity leave to mothers working for companies with as few as four employees, with no minimum length of service. The law would replace Ohio’s existing law, which requires companies to give a “reasonable period of time off,” a standard which has been confusing …

‘Youth movement’ comment not enough to sink dealership’s case

10/01/2007

Tom Ahl Buick prevailed in an age discrimination suit despite the fact that owner Tom Ahl told the plaintiff his Lima dealership was having a “youth movement.” He later demoted the 40-something plaintiff from his sales manager position and hired a 25-year-old former furniture salesman to take over …

Steelworkers drop discipline against Goodyear strikebreakers

10/01/2007

The United Steelworkers have dropped disciplinary action against four former members who defied the union’s three-month strike at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Akron this summer …

Cintas fined $2.78 million in clothes dryer death

10/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA levied $2.78 million in penalties against Cincinnati-based Cintas Corp. after an employee at the company’s Tulsa, OK, plant fell into an industrial dryer and died. The employee was clearing a jam of wet laundry on a conveyor belt that carries laundry from the washer to the dryer when he fell …

Speedway SuperAmerica prevails on retaliation charges

10/01/2007

Speedway SuperAmerica, the Enon-based convenience store chain, won a recent sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit by a former cashier in a West Virginia store. The cashier alleged that she endured repeated sexual harassment by a co-worker. Shortly after complaining, she came up $200 short on her cash register. The company did not accuse her of stealing, but fired her …

Be alert to employment law issues related to older employees

10/01/2007

Employment laws give older workers unique protections that younger workers lack. Specifically, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Ohio’s Fair Employment Practices Act prohibit discrimination because of age against workers 40 and older. However, employers are getting a reprieve of sorts from a new EEOC regulation …