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Employment Law

Supreme Court preview: Key FLSA, bias cases on tap

10/01/2005
While much of the recent U.S. Supreme Court drama has swirled around who will serve on the court, employers are looking forward to key employment-law cases that the court will hear …

USERRA: Know your duty to returning disabled reservists

10/01/2005
THE LAW. You may know that the federal Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requires employers to reinstate employees who take military-related leave, plus it prohibits job discrimination against …

Drug testing is perfectly legal … if done properly

10/01/2005

Q. I have an employee who says that our drug-testing program is a violation of his constitutional rights. What can I tell him (or show him) to prove that we’re well within the law? —S.H., Texas

Beware of hidden legal risks in annual HR audits

10/01/2005
Issue: HR audits can help you identify weak points in your employment-law compliance.
Risk: If you don’t act on the audit’s recommendations (and employees find out) that mistake can kill …

Teach managers how to handle staff returning from injury

10/01/2005
Issue: Employees who return from injury leave may or may not be covered under the ADA.
Risk: By treating employees as if they’re “disabled” (even if they’re not), supervisors create …

Using insensitive nicknames can spell bias

10/01/2005
Issue: Some supervisors, particularly males, try to bond with employees by giving them nicknames.
Risk: When nicknames are insensitive to a protected class (race, ethnicity, etc.), they could trigger hostile-environment …

Know the 5 ‘musts’ for age-discrimination waivers

10/01/2005
Issue: Very precise wording is needed when employees waive their rights to sue for age discrimination.
Risk: Employers often treat age-bias waivers like any other waiver, a critical mistake that …

You can’t ask employees to sign away FMLA rights

10/01/2005
Issue: Severance packages usually ask departing employees to waive their rights to file various employment lawsuits.
Risk: If you include FMLA in that mix, you’ll risk having the whole package …

You can track hours for exempt and nonexempt staff

10/01/2005

Q. We have mechanics who work on a straight commission basis. Do we need to track their hours? —E.D., Nevada

When must you pay nonexempt employees for travel?

10/01/2005
Issue: Many employers are baffled about how to pay nonexempt employees when they travel locally or on overnight trips.
Risk: Mistakes could spark anything from mild complaints to class-action lawsuits, …