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Employment Law

Explain how maternity, FMLA leave overlap

09/07/2017
Many employers have maternity leave policies that provide a period of paid time off following birth or adoption. That’s fine. But if you intend for paid maternity leave to run concurrently with federal FMLA leave, be sure you spell that out.

Beware trumped up reasons for firing

09/07/2017
Sometimes, it is up to HR to stop bosses from doing the wrong thing—for example, when he is frustrated because he has to accommodate a disabled worker’s medical restrictions. If the supervisor comes up with an obviously implausible reason to fire the worker, expect trouble.

Another nail in the coffin of the old ‘new’ overtime regulations

09/07/2017
A federal judge in Texas last month formally struck down the Obama-era regs that would have more than doubled the white-collar overtime threshold to $47,476 per year.

Establish several ways to report harassment

09/06/2017
Providing training to supervisors and employees is a vital way to prevent sexual harassment lawsuits. But a second piece to that puzzle is often overlooked: creating an easy-to-understand complaint policy.

DOL may change Obama-era tip pool rule

09/06/2017
The Department of Labor has announced in its semi-annual Uniform Regulatory Agenda that it may scrap a tip-pooling rule enacted by the Obama administration. The existing rule bans using tip pools to share gratuities with workers who traditionally don’t receive tips, such as cooks and dishwashers.

EEO-1 form pay data scrapped

08/31/2017
The Trump administration is pumping the brakes on a new EEO-1 form that would have required employers to report aggregate information on how much they pay workers, broken down by gender, race and ethnicity.

EEOC takes aim at pregnancy discrimination

08/31/2017
What does the EEOC expect when employees are expecting? That employers will uphold their obligations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Title VII.

‘How are things going?’ triggers new union election

08/30/2017
Eight years of an Obama-era Democratic majority at the National Labor Relations Board have brought about some counterintuitive decisions and pro-union outcomes. One of the latest is Mek Arden, LLC d/b/a Arden Post Acute Rehab (365 NLRB No. 109, 2017).

Disabled vet nominated to fill EEOC vacancy

08/30/2017
President Trump has nominated disabled Iraq War veteran Daniel Gade to serve on the EEOC.

Texas Workforce Commission wage claim ends FLSA case

08/30/2017
When a former employee asks the Texas Workforce Commission to order her former employer to cough up allegedly unpaid wages, the commission’s decision on what was owed can be used to end a Fair Labor Standards Act claim for the same pay.