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Employment Law

Courts appreciate employers’ basic fairness

09/25/2018
Employers that treat employees fairly seldom lose lawsuits. Judges and juries understand that employers have a business to run, but appreciate it when they try to do the right thing under difficult circumstances. Here’s an example of how fairness won out.

Keillor’s son among latest forced to leave PHC

09/25/2018
Three long-time employees of “A Prairie Home Companion” have been terminated in what could be continued fallout from alleged sexual harassment by the radio show’s long-time host Garrison Keillor.

Walmart sued for pregnancy bias

09/25/2018
Walmart violated federal law when it refused to accommodate workers’ pregnancy-related medical restrictions, the EEOC charged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 21.

Diabetic drivers approved for commercial interstate runs

09/25/2018
A new rule finalized Sept. 19 for the first time allows truck drivers with diabetes to operate commercial vehicles on interstate routes as long as they can prove they carefully monitor and manage the disease.

Disloyal executive? Claw back pay from ‘faithless servant’

09/24/2018
Employers faced with a high-level “disloyal” employee may be able to recover compensation and costs associated with litigating that employee’s disloyalty in court. Here are two recent examples of such “claw backs.”

After harassment, court takes bite out of Stellar Dental

09/24/2018
A New York state court has ordered Buffalo-based Stellar Dental Care to pay more than $200,000 after it failed to address severe sexual harassment by a dental assistant.

Public employee free-speech rights have limitations

09/24/2018
Public employees who speak out on matters of public concern are protected from retaliation for doing so. But not every comment is protected.

Document all requests for disability-related leave

09/24/2018
Does your attendance policy penalize employees who rack up a certain number of absences? Make sure managers report any disability-related accommodation requests involving time off so you can exclude those absences from the count.

Before discharge, audit disciplinary practices to detect possible pattern of discrimination

09/24/2018
If you find an evaluation that’s as negative or worse than that of the employee you are about to terminate, and that person wasn’t fired, ask: Do the two employees belong to different protected classes?

When alleged harasser holds high rank, take extra care to thoroughly investigate

09/24/2018
If a worker comes to HR with a complaint that someone has sent him sexually oriented images, take that report seriously—especially if the alleged sender is a supervisor.