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Employment Law

Bush to halt Clinton-era rule opening UI funds for paid leave

01/01/2003
Acting to quiet business’s criticism and protect state unemployment insurance dollars, the U.S. Labor Depart-ment says it plans to repeal a Clinton administration regulation that gives states the option of dipping …

ADEA: Prevent fastest growing, most expensive type of bias

01/01/2003
Expensive mistake Median award by type of bias: ’94-’00 cases Age $268,926, Disability 175,001, Race 120,951, Sex 100,000. Source: Jury Verdict Research …

Don’t Allow Unlimited Sick Leave

01/01/2003

Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts? —D.H., Kentucky

Inconsistent hiring sinks your defense

12/01/2002
Don’t leave the hiring and firing process up to your managers. Standardize your practices, and make sure everyone follows them. Giving any worker, especially a disabled one, the bum’s rush will …

Don’t fight reservist reinstatement: You’ll lose

12/01/2002
Now is not the time for your company to appear unpatriotic, in the public’s eye or before a judge. As a recent ruling shows, courts are bending over backward to give …

Firing employees on FMLA leave: Occasionally legal, usually unwise

12/01/2002
While he was taking leave for depression under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Jerry Ogborn got the ax. Reason: During the absence, his employer discovered that Ogborn, a union …

Rein in abusive managers: Even ‘Flip Wilson’ claim sways jury

12/01/2002
You’d think that 12 jurors wouldn’t look kindly on an armed robber’s claim that job discrimination drove him to rob a convenience store with a sawed-off shotgun. But you would …

You can’t shave employee’s bonus just because she took FMLA leave

12/01/2002
When the company Valerie Dierlam worked for was sold, the acquiring firm offered her a bonus of half her salary if she stayed for one year. She did, but the …

You don’t have to police workplace banter, but don’t let it escalate

12/01/2002
On the production floor, Lisa Ocheltree had to listen to conversations between male co-workers about their sexual exploits, which included vulgar language. The men showed …

Prevent pro-union postings at work by limiting personal solicitations

12/01/2002
After a union launched an organizing campaign at an Arkansas hospital, a nurse put up a screen saver on a hospital computer that said “Look for the U.” Her supervisor gave …