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Employment Law

Once you accommodate disabled, proving ‘hardship’ gets tougher

09/01/2001
When Larry Skerski began working as a cable technician, about half his job involved climbing ladders, poles and towers. But a decade into his job, he developed a panic disorder when …

Small, but vital, function of a job may make it ‘essential’ under ADA

09/01/2001
Job descriptions at Northern States Power Co. make it an “essential function” for customer service reps to handle emergency calls like gas leaks and downed power lines. Loretta Emerson handled …

Simple accommodation efforts can avoid major headaches

09/01/2001
Cathy Collings wanted to fire one of her employees, a state social worker, because he refused to license homosexuals as foster parents. The worker said that his religious beliefs prevented it. …

Risky environment won’t end your duty to reduce danger to staff

09/01/2001
All patients at Topeka State Hospital posed a danger to themselves or others. Staff members knew that, and the hospital regularly required workers to sign job description documents that mentioned the …

Investigate complaints, pronto

09/01/2001
The male workers at an Azteca restaurant constantly mocked Antonio Sanchez for his effeminate ways. They swore at him and referred to the waiter as “she” and “her.” Sanchez finally …

Overtime: Pay it now or pay it after a lawsuit

09/01/2001
Before you pile extra work on employees without paying overtime, make sure you’ve correctly classified your workers. A California jury recently ordered Farmers Insurance Exchange to pay overtime to 2,400 …

Transsexuals gaining protection

09/01/2001
Rhode Island recently became the second state to protect transsexuals from employment bias, adding “gender identity or expression” to its anti-discrimination law. The law also covers “gender-related expression,” which gives protection …

Supreme Court outlook: Key employment issues at stake

09/01/2001
Look for the U.S. Supreme Court to tackle several important business issues this fall, including what constitutes a disability and when a claim is officially filed. The court will open its …

Timecard Adjustments OK

09/01/2001

Q. Our employees punch a time clock and then go to job sites. Sometimes they don’t take a lunch break. But when they do, they’re unable to clock out and back in, so there’s no time record. Can a manager adjust the timecard by marking through the daily total and deducting the lunch time? –A.P., Virginia

Get Certification Before Granting FMLA Leave

09/01/2001

Q. An employee told her supervisor that she needed surgery. We approved time off under the FMLA with the understanding that she would provide certification after the leave began. We later discovered that this “necessary” procedure was liposuction. Can we revoke approval of medical leave under FMLA and convert sick hours used to vacation hours instead? Can we fire her based on inappropriate use of the FMLA? —T.S., Florida