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Employment Law

Employees can use vacation time toward one-year FMLA eligibility

07/01/2002
Robert Ruder began working in management at a Maine hospital on Jan. 5, 2000. Exactly one year later, he left work for unspecified medical reasons. His employer denied his request for …

Include temp workers in anti-harassment policy

07/01/2002
Nearly 70 women who worked as temporary on-site telemarketers at a Chicago car dealership filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court, claiming widespread sexual harassment by the dealership’s management. Most of …

ADA: You can deny jobs that threaten workers’ own safety, health

07/01/2002
In a solid win for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court last month ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t entitle employees to jobs that might endanger their health, even …

High court ruling forces longer retention of records

07/01/2002
In another ruling last month, the Supreme Court said employees in some cases can file discrimination charges even if allegations fall outside the statute of limitations. Under Title VII, employees …

You’re free to adjust benefit plan without fear of FMLA suit

07/01/2002
When it merged with another bank, Wells Fargo replaced its traditional employee sick- and vacation-leave policy with a paid-time-off (PTO) program and a short-term disability plan. A PTO policy combines annual …

Don’t stack the deck in arbitration

07/01/2002
Daniel Murray, a full-time union organizer, signed a mandatory arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. The pact said arbitrators would be chosen from a list provided by his employer and …

New wage and hour threat: ‘Donning and doffing’ crackdown

07/01/2002
The government is going after em-ployers that don’t pay workers for time spent putting on and taking off required work clothes and protective gear. In one of the largest settlements …

EEOC issues more guidance on anti-Muslim bias

07/01/2002
Between Sept. 11, 2001, and May 7, 2002, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 497 job-bias complaints on the basis of Muslim religion. That’s compared with 193 complaints over …

Employ workers outside America? Two rulings boost your legal risks

07/01/2002
1. EU harassment rule. Employers in Europe will need to do a better job of preventing sexual harassment. Reason: A newly approved European Union (EU) directive, which takes effect in 2005, …

Rules of the road: Know when to pay for travel time

07/01/2002
Employers know they don’t have to pay Joe Worker for his typical commute into the office. But pay-for-travel questions …