• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

You don’t necessarily have to pay for pre-Work activities

07/01/2007

Employers have struggled to figure out exactly when they must pay employees for pre-work activities ever since the U. S. Supreme Court decided that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires paying workers for the time they spend putting on protective clothing. It’s not enough to say that the time must be of benefit to the employer …

To be safe, always double-Check supervisor’s allegations

07/01/2007

When it comes to discharging an employee, be careful not to simply accept a supervisor’s opinion of the employee’s performance. If the supervisor is effectively hiding an underlying problem with persons belonging to a protected class and you don’t check for yourself whether the employee deserves to lose the job, you may end up costing the company money …

No double recovery under federal and state law

07/01/2007

Good news for government employers: Employees who sue for discrimination under both the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act don’t get to collect double damages …

No, I’m not God; I just play him on the PA

07/01/2007

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport fired a skycap who broadcast an anti-gay message over the public address system around 1 am on May 1 …

Jury awards $160,000 for retaliation

07/01/2007

The South Florida Water Management District will pay $160,000 for firing an employee who complained of discrimination. The employee had a 31-year record of good reviews with the district until a new supervisor took over …

That’s a lot of quarters: City to pay meter reader $60K

07/01/2007

The City of Port St. Lucie will reinstate a demoted meter reader and pay her $60,000 to settle a race discrimination and USERRA lawsuit …

St. Pete man claims he was fired for sex harassment complaints

07/01/2007

A St. Petersburg forklift operator has filed suit against Kane’s Furniture, claiming he was fired for complaining about sexual harassment by a male supervisor …

Minority decision-Maker doesn’t prevent promotion bias

07/01/2007

Although it may defy logic to think that a member of a protected class would discriminate in hiring or promoting another member of the same class, having a minority decision-maker doesn’t automatically mean there’s no bias in the selection process …

Approach employee directly to discuss accommodations

07/01/2007

The ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled applicants and employees. And those accommodations must be based on an agreement between the disabled individual and the employer, using an “interactive process” …

Check policies for impact on older applicants and employees

07/01/2007

Ever since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2005, older workers and applicants have been able to prevail in age discrimination suits if they can show that an employer’s policy or hiring standard has a so-called “disparate impact” on those over 40 years old …