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Employment Law

Female worker replaced by a female may still pursue sex bias case

01/01/2006

You may think that your organization is immune from a sex discrimination lawsuit if you hire a female employee to replace a fired female. But such "free passes" don’t automatically exist … and your supervisors should know it …

Decrease in Overtime Hours Not Necessarily an ‘Adverse Action’

01/01/2006

Employees need to prove they suffered some sort of "adverse job action" (firing, demotion, worse job conditions, etc.) to file a discrimination lawsuit. But variations in work schedules don’t necessarily amount to an adverse action. That’s true even if an employee’s altered schedule results in fewer overtime hours …

Two doctor visits during incapacity period define a serious condition

01/01/2006

Don’t assume that an employee’s three-day absence and two doctor’s visits will automatically equal a "serious health condition" that qualifies the employee for FMLA leave. A new court ruling says it matters when those two doctor’s visits occur …

You may be liable for wage claims from contractor’s illegal workers

01/01/2006

You might think outsourcing jobs to an independent contractor saves money. But if you insist on exercising any significant control over how, when and where independent contractors do their job, you may end up paying dearly in the end if your organization is deemed the true employer …

Show your defense cards early in the lawsuit game

01/01/2006

By having a tough anti-discrimination policy and a clear complaint procedure, you establish what lawyers call an "affirmative defense," meaning you have a weapon to defend yourself in court. But you must put forth those affirmative defenses very early in a lawsuit …

Immigration Steps Up High-Profile Workplace Raids

01/01/2006

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is stepping up its efforts to discourage employers from hiring undocumented workers. ICE recently raided a million-square-foot Wal-Mart warehouse in Butler, Pa., netting 125 undocumented workers …

Alert Supervisors to Little-Known Association-Bias Law

01/01/2006

By now, your supervisors know it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of his or her disability. But do they also know about a less obvious part of the ADA that makes it illegal to discriminate against people because they have an association with a person who has a disability? …

Evacuation planning: Pay attention to ADA responsibilities

01/01/2006

While the ADA was created to stop employment discrimination, the law also requires you to provide equal access (and possibly accommodations) for disabled employees in the area of emergency evacuations from your workplace …

Employees’ right to view personnel file is a state issue

01/01/2006

Q. I support the concept of permitting employees to view their personnel files upon request, but I want to know if any law or regulation requires us to provide access. If so, where can I find out about this law/regulation? I’ve been unable to find the rule, and I’m beginning to suspect that we’ve passed this “law” around so long in HR that we believe it exists. –R.C., Alabama

Should You Give FMLA Form to ‘Ineligible’ Employee?

01/01/2006

Q. An employee who’s been employed since May is out on workers’ comp and will be for a while. Do I send her FMLA paperwork even though she hasn’t met the criteria of being employed for at least a year? It’s my understanding that I should send it to everyone that requests leave, and only after they return the paperwork should I determine if the person is, in fact, eligible. —L.P., California