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Employment Law

2005 SHRM conference

08/01/2005
?’Winging it’ during interviews poses double danger
Using unstructured, “tell me about yourself” questions during
job interviews not only opens you to discrimination claims, it often results in poor …

Retain benefit eligibility after FMLA leave

08/01/2005

Q. We understand that employees on FMLA leave don’t lose investment toward retirement plans. Leave time is counted as work time. But our policy says that if employees are out for more than 30 days, their anniversary dates will change. Accrued paid-time off and vacation time will be based on the new anniversary date. Can we do this? —K.A., Connecticut

Adapt technology to disabled staff … within your means

08/01/2005
Issue: Various new technologies allow disabled people to be productive at work.
Risk: Courts say employers must provide such adaptive technologies in line with their resources.
Action: Here’s how …

Don’t punish employees for wrong drug-Test hunch

08/01/2005

Q. We suspected an employee was using drugs, so we sent him to be tested. We told him he couldn’t work until the test came back in two days. The results were negative. What financial responsibility do we have? Do we owe him lost wages for those two days? —L.B., North Carolina

Pay employees for their ‘pre-work’ work

08/01/2005
When employees arrive and prepare their workstations for the day ahead, does that count as compensable time? Yes, as one employer found out the hard way last month. Humana must pay …

Stop FMLA abuse with employee ‘bed check’

07/01/2005
Good news: Managing employees out on sick leave and spotting FMLA abuse just got easier.
As a recent court ruling shows, you can call and check on employees to make …

Even ‘nontargets’ can sue for hostile environment

07/01/2005
Hopefully, you already take any discrimination or harassment complaints from minority employees seriously. But what if a white male blows the whistle about race discrimination he sees affecting his minority co-workers? …

Firing worker during FMLA leave: possibly legal, but usually unwise

07/01/2005
Terminating an employee who’s out on FMLA leave isn’t impossible. If you can prove that you would have fired the employee if he or she had been at work, you can …

EEOC following up on promise to crack down on Hispanic bias

07/01/2005
The EEOC announced in 2003 that it would work to counteract workplace discrimination against Hispanic employees, and the agency is making good on its promise.
EEOC chief Cari Dominquez, who …

Go overboard to clarify details in age-discrimination waivers

07/01/2005
When terminating employees, it’s smart to ask them to sign agreements that waive their rights to sue your organization for discrimination or wrongful discharge. Typically, employers wrap such waivers into severance …