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Employment Law

No guarantee of same job after FMLA leave

06/08/2017
You may have to promote someone from within to do the work of the employee who has taken FMLA leave. But what about the employee who took FMLA leave? Isn’t he entitled to return to his old job? Not necessarily, as long as you can place him in an “equivalent” job with the same benefits and pay.

Beware rescinding religious accommodation! You will probably have to explain why in court

06/07/2017
Employers should carefully document the process by which they deny or approve a religious accommodation. In particular, granting a request and then deciding to revoke it later may make it more difficult to defend in court.

Liability is murky, but employers should still take measures to protect personal data

06/07/2017
Can an employer be held liable for any damage that results from a data breach that leads to identity theft?

Teach managers: No complaining about FMLA

06/07/2017
Make sure all supervisors understand that they must never criticize employees for taking FMLA leave. For employees who need to care for their own serious health condition or that of a close relative, FMLA leave is a right, not a privilege.

Lawsuit: Flight attendants harassed for union roles

06/07/2017
An American Airlines flight attendant based in Philadelphia and a colleague from North Carolina are suing, claiming the airline failed to police online forums and Facebook pages it controls, permitting other employees to harass the women for their union activities.

What does ADA say about accommodation when employee has communicable disease?

06/06/2017
Q. We discovered that a beloved member of our kitchen staff has hepatitis A. I know that many protections exist for individuals with disabilities, but we are worried about him handling food. Can we reassign him to the front of the house as a host?

Fear of violence: Can we terminate employee who has mental illness?

06/06/2017
Q. We discovered that one of our employees has a history of unprovoked violent fits due to schizophrenia. We certainly sympathize with our employee’s struggle, but we also worry about the safety of customers and other employees. Does state law allow us to fire him for this reason?

Can a thermostat adjustment really be an ADA reasonable accommodation?

06/06/2017
Q. One of our employees suffers from arthritis and has complained that the temperature of the office triggers joint pain. She has requested that we heat the entire office to 80 degrees Fahrenheit as an accommodation of her disability. Must we do so?

Palo Alto firm pays big to settle discrimination charges

06/06/2017
Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto has agreed to settle charges it discriminated against Asian applicants who sought engineering positions at the tech firm.

Bill would raise overtime threshold in California

06/06/2017
Assembly Member Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) has proposed raising California’s overtime threshold to the higher of $3,956 per month ($47,472 annually) or twice the state’s minimum wage for executive, administrative and or professional employees.