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Employment Law

Courts reshaping the definition of ‘Retaliation’

01/01/2007

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court drafted a broad new legal standard for judging whether a company retaliated against an employee for complaining about discrimination. Now, the lower courts are starting to define what that standard means …

What to do when complainer is actually the harasser?

01/01/2007

Just because an employee urges you to investigate alleged discrimination, don’t assume you have to treat that person with kid gloves. If it turns out that the complainer was actually the one causing the problems, you can—and should—take action …

Volunteers can sue for job discrimination

01/01/2007

You may believe that interns, volunteers or other unpaid helpers aren’t official “employees” so they can’t sue for discrimination. You’d be wrong …

You can demand that staff work overtime, but be consistent

01/01/2007

If your organization hits a busy time and needs employees to work long hours, don’t hesitate to require everyone to pitch in. Federal rules allow you to require nonexempt employees to work overtime, so long as you pay them time-and-a-half for hours worked above 40 in a week …

Employee’s comment can serve as harassment ‘Notice’

01/01/2007

It doesn’t take much for employers to become liable for sexual harassment once someone in authority knows (or should have known) about the probability that harassment will occur. Actual knowledge that harassment has occurred isn’t necessary. In fact, liability can be triggered by something as minor as an employee’s comment that she is “uncomfortable” around a co-worker …

Court gives employees more power in age-Bias cases

01/01/2007

When employees file age-discrimination lawsuits, their lawyers may try to bolster the case by seeking out co-workers who have the same complaint …

Upcoming Supreme Court ruling could open floodgates for pay-Bias lawsuits

01/01/2007

Hold onto those performance evaluations and internal memos that justify pay decisions a little longer. This is not the time to do a massive purge of employee files. Reason: An important U.S. Supreme Court case will decide how much time employees have to file charges alleging pay discrimination …

Store managers can meet executive exemption without constant on-Site supervising of staff

01/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department issued an important opinion letter recently that clarifies the criteria that store managers must meet to qualify for the executive exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Opinion Letter FLSA 2006-35) …

Want to change the FMLA? Here’s your chance

01/01/2007

After years of delay and missed deadlines, the U.S. Labor Department appears ready to move ahead with its promised update to FMLA regulations. But before it breaks out the red pen, the agency is seeking input from employers and other interested parties …

Does your Web site discriminate against the disabled?

01/01/2007

Until recently, companies that sold products and services over the Web didn’t feel that the ADA applied to them, meaning they weren’t required to make their sites accessible to visually impaired or disabled people. But a lawsuit against Target stores has Web retailers rethinking that assumption …