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Employment Law

Former Duluth, Minn. hockey coach awarded $3.7 million for bias

04/16/2018
A federal jury hearing a discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of Minnesota Duluth has awarded $3.7 million to Shannon Miller, the university’s former women’s hockey coach.

Harassment training has changed since #MeToo

04/12/2018
Employment lawyers say the first six months of the #MeToo movement hasn’t led to a tsunami of workplace harassment claims by employees—at least not yet. One big change, however, has been a sharp increase in the number of employers who are doing preventative training to head off such claims.

Off-the-clock allegations? Find the checkbook

04/12/2018
If you discover you have made a wage-and-hour mistake, the safest approach is often to make it right as soon as possible. If you dispute an employee’s wage claim, you may wind up paying far more in legal fees than you would have if you had simply paid the money the worker claims you owe.

When bias charges arise, never ignore EEOC

04/12/2018
No matter how trivial you might consider discrimination or harassment charges leveled by your employees, never, ever ignore an EEOC complaint. It could wind up costing your organization dearly.

Feds’ rules for safeguarding sensitive info

04/12/2018
A Trump administration official’s frustration over confidentiality breaches has turned into useful advice that can benefit HR professionals who worry about disclosure of sensitive information.

DOL releases enforcement guidance on newly legal tip pools

04/10/2018
Apparently no longer required to wait for formal rulemaking to be complete, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin describing how federal investigators will treat tip pooling practices they encounter.

Snapshot: Has #MeToo made it difficult for men to work with women?

04/10/2018
Overall, 51% of adults say an increased focus on sexual harassment has made it harder for men to interact with women at work.

The easiest accommodation: Additional time off

04/09/2018
Consider offering additional medical leave as an accommodation—even if the worker isn’t eligible for any more.

Not all accommodations are possible to implement

04/09/2018
Employers, not disabled employees, get to pick the accommodation.

Unfair labor practices can result in union win even if employees voted union down

04/09/2018
Facing a push for unionization? Be careful! If you aggressively resist efforts to unionize and end up committing an unfair labor practice in the process, you may end up with a union workplace, even if employees vote down the union.