• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Details matter when documenting discipline

07/19/2017
Smart employers make sure they document—in advance—the underlying reasons for any disciplinary actions. When preparing documentation, be sure to provide all the details, especially if two employees committed arguably similar offenses but were punished differently.

Stanton to be tapped to head Labor Department’s Wage & Hour Division

07/17/2017
President Trump is expected to nominate Cheryl Stanton to serve as administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

House bill would cut DOL budget 11%

07/17/2017
The House Appropriations Committee has proposed an 11% smaller budget for the Department of Labor next year.

NLRB nominee says he would sit out cases involving his law firm

07/17/2017
Testifying at his confirmation hearing July 13, William Emanuel, nominated to fill a pot on the National Labor Relations Board, faced skeptical questioning from Democratic senators.

Get out your calculator to ensure bonuses comply with FLSA

07/17/2017
Under the FLSA, purely “discretionary” bonuses do not need to be included when calculating the regular rate. “Nondiscretionary” bonuses, however, must be included.

Farm settles case claiming bias against Americans

07/17/2017
Christner Farms in Dawson, in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, has paid almost $22,000 to settle charges it filled positions with H-2A visa holders but refused to hire a qualified American citizen.

‘Mark of the Beast’ case settled for $600,000

07/17/2017
Consol Energy, headquartered in Pittsburgh, will pay a former employee $586,861 after the 4th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that he was forced to retire early when it refused to accommodate his religious beliefs.

Patience required to ensure lawful ADA reasonable accommodations process

07/17/2017
Employers that patiently go about the sometimes complicated business of identifying reasonable accommodations for disabled employees seldom end up losing in court. The key is to take the ADA seriously and work with the employee at every stage.

Tell managers: Never comment on FMLA leave

07/17/2017
Employees who qualify for FMLA leave can’t be punished for taking it. Any action that could be seen as dissuading workers from exercising their right to take FMLA leave amounts to interfering with a federal right.

Prepare to justify discipline occurring after employee complains about discrimination

07/13/2017
Simply put, a bad review all by itself isn’t usually grounds for a lawsuit in most cases. However, punishing someone with a bad review because they complained about discrimination may land you in legal trouble.