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Employment Law

Consistency Erases Risk of Light-Duty Jobs

07/01/2006

Employers who use light-duty programs to cut workers’ compensation costs often make one big legal mistake: They apply their policies haphazardly, allowing some employees to take light-duty jobs, but not others. That inconsistency is the fastest way to trigger discrimination lawsuits …

Employees’ Seniority Trumps Disabled Co-Workers’ ADA Rights

07/01/2006

If you award first choice of promotions, shifts, vacation slots and other perks based on employees’ seniority, you’ll face a dilemma if a disabled employee requests an ADA accommodation that conflicts with that policy …

Have an Affirmative Action Plan? Protect Against Reverse-Bias Claims

07/01/2006

In the HR world, your actions sometimes fall into the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” category. This is one of those cases …

Placing Employee on ‘Involuntary’ FMLA Leave Is Perfectly Legal

07/01/2006

When an employee calls in sick with an apparently serious ailment, you can place that employee on FMLA leave, even if he or she never asks. f you reasonably believe she has a serious health condition, you can start the 12-week FMLA-leave clock ticking …

Equal treatment is absolutely essential after employee’s complaint

07/01/2006

It may seem patently obvious, but judging from the number of lawsuits alleging retaliation these days, many employers still don’t understand the importance of equal treatment following a complaint …

Analyze Severance Agreements for Plain-Language Readability

07/01/2006

When it comes time to downsize or reorganize, one of the most common risks you’ll face is age-discrimination claims. That’s why it’s best to have departing employees sign severance agreements in which they waive their rights to pursue age-related claims …

Breaching employment contract can nullify noncompete clause

07/01/2006

The best way to protect against employee poaching—and against employees using your organization as a training ground to start their own competing firm—is with a solid employment contract and noncompete agreement. But it will mean nothing if you break the agreement first …

‘Ministerial exception’ isn’t free pass for religious groups to discriminate

07/01/2006

If your organization is a religious institution, you may not have adopted anti-discrimination policies or practices because you think you can rely on the “ministerial exception.” But, as a new case shows, that may not always be the case …

Labor Dept. Tightens Noose on Donning-and-Doffing Cases

07/01/2006

A key 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision made clear that manufacturers must pay workers for time spent changing in and out of safety gear, plus the time they spend walking between changing rooms and workstations. Now, the Labor Department is moving to make sure employers are complying …

Small public firms must comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC says

07/01/2006

Here’s some bad news for public companies: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it won’t exempt smaller public companies from the anti-fraud provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act …