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Employment Law

Walk the line on drug tests; bad policy lets workers reap benefits

02/01/2000
Jack Eaton got the boot after a drug test showed he’d been using marijuana and cocaine. Yet a court said he can still collect unemployment compensation, because his employer gave the …

No need to alter policy for employees who are expecting

02/01/2000
When she became pregnant, Michelle Spivey worried about lifting a nearly 250-pound patient in her job as a certified nurse’s assistant. She asked the rehabilitation center where she worked for assistance …

Don’t hand out authority without giving training to match

02/01/2000
Promoting lower-level employees to supervisory roles, even if it’s on a temporary or “acting” basis, can backfire if you fail to educate them on their new legal responsibilities. That’s what happened …

Average evaluations and lateral transfers may not be discriminatory

02/01/2000
The Export-Import Bank reassigned several employees in the early 1990s, and Regina Brown wasn’t happy about it. The 50-year-old black senior loan officer filed suit, claiming her transfer to what …

Severe but short-term conditions can qualify for ADA protection

02/01/2000
When a data support clerk was diagnosed with depression, she applied for and received 12 weeks’ leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Then she requested an additional three-month leave, …

Two key January rulings

02/01/2000
You must protect contractors from hostile environments. A Mexican-American owner of a company hired to clean parking lots at Wal-Mart claimed that …

Expanding? Review proposed changes to disability access rule

02/01/2000
Don’t draw up major remodeling or expansion plans until you’ve read through the government’s new proposal to overhaul the access rules under …

FMLA: 6th Circuit clarifies which employees are eligible

02/01/2000
To be eligible under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee must have at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12 months. But be careful …

Beware new legal threat of accepting ‘walk-in’ applicants

02/01/2000
Employment attorneys are increasingly warning companies to avoid relying too heavily on walk-in job applicants. While there’s no legal requirement to advertise a job opening, …

Employment issues to watch in Washington this year

02/01/2000
Don’t look for any major new employment laws this year. Instead, look for President Clinton’s appointees in regulatory agencies to try to pack some punch into their final months. Here’s what …