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Employment Law

Federal contractors: Dust off government shutdown plans

08/22/2017
It’s that time of year again: With the threat of a government shutdown looming Sept. 30, HR pros working for federal government contractors should pull out their contingency plans for temporarily furloughing employees who do work for Uncle Sam.

Move on if employee won’t discuss ADA accommodation

08/21/2017
Employers are supposed to engage in the interactive accommodations process with disabled workers to arrive at workable accommodations. But what if the employee stops communicating with HR about suggested accommodations?

When contractual matters are on the line, beware casual online click-thrus

08/21/2017
Unless you can verify that the employee did in fact complete your process, it may not actually bind employees to any contractual provisions such as arbitration agreements.

Never mention workers’ ages when discussing reduction in force

08/21/2017
What not to do when closing down offices in which workers are older than the company average: Mention that eventually you may be able to hire younger replacements at lower cost. That’s just asking for a lawsuit.

White hood was a joke? No one’s laughing now

08/17/2017
When Kenneth, who is black, complained that his co-workers used a white hood to harass and intimidate him, management told him the incident was meant as a joke.

Never pre-judge obviously disabled applicants

08/17/2017
Pre-judging an applicant with an obvious disability can lead to big legal trouble. Just mentioning such a disability—think needing crutches to walk, for example—can become the basis for a discrimination lawsuit if the applicant isn’t hired.

Miscimarra to step down from NLRB

08/15/2017
National Labor Relations Board Chair  Philip Miscimarra says he won’t seek reappointment to the board when his term expires in December.

UPS settles EEOC disability discrimination suit for $2 million

08/15/2017
International shipping giant UPS has agreed to pay $2 million to nearly 90 current and former employees to settle a nationwide EEOC disability discrimination lawsuit filed in 2009.

Suffering FMLA abuse? Cure top 4 symptoms

08/14/2017
Summertime and the winter holidays are the two peak seasons for employee leave requests—including FMLA leave. How many of your employees’ FMLA requests will be suspicious this holiday season?

Ensure training programs are equal opportunity

08/13/2017
Make training available to everyone who may benefit. Be sure there’s no hidden bias behind choosing who gets to take part. If members of a protected class routinely miss out, expect a lawsuit.