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Employment Law

Even after election, you still need solid reason to discharge nonsupporters

08/01/2007

It’s a practice as old as politics: When there’s a newly elected sheriff in town, deputies left over from the old administration may lose their jobs. But if you’re the HR professional handling the changes, make sure you know which employees can be dismissed and which cannot be merely because of their political affiliation. As the following case shows, public employees in nonpolicy positions are protected from post-election bloodbaths …

Workers’ comp applies when fellow employees hurt each other while working

08/01/2007

Employment-related injuries are covered by workers’ compensation even if those injuries may have been caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. Employees who are hurt can’t sue the other employee directly; they must make a claim with their employer’s workers’ compensation insurer. As a practical matter, that means employers will bear the brunt of any injury …

Vonage to employee: ‘Come back after you convert’

08/01/2007

The EEOC has filed suit against Vonage Holdings Corp., based in Holmdel, for terminating a technical service agent because he is an Orthodox Jew. The lawsuit alleges that Vonage America Inc. barred the agent from taking a required six-week training course because he had to miss time to observe Jewish holidays …

New NJ law prohibits transgender discrimination

08/01/2007

This summer, New Jersey became the ninth state to outlaw discrimination against people because they are transsexual, cross-dressers, asexual, of ambiguous gender or not traditionally masculine or feminine …

Prison guard not entitled to indefinite light duty

08/01/2007

Employers are not required to provide a light-duty position indefinitely, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled, overturning an Appellate Division decision. A Gloucester County corrections officer was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which gave him double vision and prevented him from working in contact with inmates …

Now brewing at Camden café: a sexual harassment suit

08/01/2007

New Jersey’s Division on Civil Rights has filed suit against City Coffee, a café in downtown Camden, following numerous complaints of sexual harassment. Six former employees claim that café owner Ronald Ford Jr. repeatedly touched them and asked them to have sex with him. The women alleged that Ford carefully conducted all his inappropriate acts out of view of surveillance cameras in the small café …

Attention Wal-Mart managers: Beware of class-Action lawsuits

08/01/2007

Over the past few years, large companies such as Microsoft, Abercrombie and Fitch, Intel, Federal Express, UPS, IKEA and Burger King have been involved in multimillion dollar class-action lawsuits for violating state and federal wage-and-hour laws. Now add Wal-Mart to that list …

Hourly bonuses for salaried employees?

08/01/2007

Q. I employ a physical therapist on a salaried basis, making her an exempt professional under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Can I pay her an hourly bonus without causing her to lose the exempt status? …

Can we fire for incomplete medical cert?

08/01/2007

Q. An employee recently has contracted a serious health condition for which she requests FMLA leave. The medical certification form, completed by her physician, does not indicate the probable duration of her condition. Can we suspend the employee for the physician’s failure to submit a sufficiently complete medical certification form? …

No witness needed for disciplinary meeting

08/01/2007

Q. I run a large restaurant and employ only nonunion workers. Recently, I called one of the waiters into my office to issue him a warning for arriving late for his shifts. He told me he had a right to have one of the cooks there witness our exchange. Is he right? …