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Employment Law

Give employees fair shot to verify leave

06/01/2002
Alex Jiminez frequently missed work due to flare-ups of Crohn’s disease. His employer’s absentee policy required progressive warnings and eventual management review after 80 hours of absences. The company reminded …

Third-party retaliation will stand up in court

06/01/2002
Gregory Fogleman claimed that the age-old parable about a son being punished for the sins of his father played out in his workplace. As a result, Gregory’s employer could pay more …

Warn supervisors: They can be held personally liable in FMLA cases

06/01/2002
Could your supervisors and managers be held personally liable when they wrongly interpret the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? In many courts, the answer is yes. Recent case: Susan …

Mean-spirited office pranks carry heavy price

06/01/2002
When a manager at an auto body shop went to the restroom, two fellow employees picked the lock, entered and took a photograph of him while urinating. They distributed the picture …

No need to bend seniority rules to accommodate disabled employees

06/01/2002
Continuing a pattern of narrowing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that, in most cases, employers don’t have to override their seniority system to accommodate …

Don’t pry too deeply when seeking proof of sick leave

06/01/2002
Under her employer’s sick-leave policy, corrections officer Belinda Fountain had to provide a diagnosis of her medical condition every time she was absent. This “medical certification” had to be on …

Overtime pay doesn’t have to apply to after-hours job training

06/01/2002
Four campus police officers were required to be certified as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) within one year of being hired as probationary police officers. Most of the required classes occurred outside …

Volunteers can’t collect on Title VII claims

06/01/2002
A bar association member volunteered to develop a program for the association on her own time, with no pay. After fending off sexual advances from the program’s chairman, she sued for …

Religious bias: No special exceptions to union pact

06/01/2002
Trucker David Virts refused to work with women during “sleeper runs” because of his religious beliefs. After his first refusal, he was warned. After his second refusal, the company fired him. …

Drop any hint of youth-oriented hiring policy

06/01/2002
A 45-year-old sales manager sued under federal age-bias law, saying an insurance company discriminated against older managers. He argued that the company’s hiring policy targeted younger managers to match its recruitment …