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

Employment Law

FMLA leave for sibling care? It’s possible

12/01/2015
A DOL ruling last year that clarified the definition of “son or daughter” under the FMLA opens up the potential for employees to take leave to care for siblings or other family and nonfamily members. If the employee is serving in the parental role for a sick child, he or she may be eligible.

What’s harassment? Courts will look at view of a ‘reasonable person’–not the employee

11/30/2015
Sensitive workers may perceive everyday interactions as harassment. But courts don’t measure whether workplace hostility exists based on that employee’s subjective assessment of the situation. Instead, a court will focus on how a hypothetical “reasonable” employee would view it.

New protections for some California transgender employees

11/28/2015
On Oct. 7, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 703 (SB 703), protecting transgender employees whose employers engage in business with state agencies.

Employee sends spouse to voice harassment complaint: Is that ‘protected’ activity?

11/24/2015

Employees who complain to HR or management about alleged discrimination or harassment are engaging in protected activity and can’t be punished for complaining. But what if the employee can’t summon the courage to complain and, instead, sends someone else? Is sending a spokesperson to complain also protected activity? A federal court says “yes,” at least when it’s the employee’s spouse who takes action.

We think an employee is stealing money; can we deduct it from her wages?

11/24/2015
Q. I have noticed that a lot of inventory is leaving the store, but the money for some items is not in the cash register. I believe one of my employees is stealing money from the cash register. Can I deduct the cash shortfall from his wages?

Employer can choose the location for arbitration

11/24/2015
Are you an out-of-state employer with headquarters elsewhere? You can still require arbitration to happen at corporate offices. It’s not automatically unfair, a California appeals court has concluded.

Make sure medical leave requests funnel through HR

11/24/2015
Don’t let supervisors handle employee requests for medical leave informally—make sure all requests come through HR. If bosses are allowed to make their own rules, inconsistencies will trip you up in court.

Arbitration agreement: Don’t bury it in handbook; deliver separate document

11/24/2015

Do you require employees to direct employment law complaints through the arbitration process rather than a lawsuit? If so, don’t bury your arbitration agreement deep in your handbook or job application. Instead, present workers with a separate document. As this new case shows, California courts are more likely to find a separate agreement to be binding.

When religious freedom & harassment collide

11/24/2015
Employers that have strict codes of conduct prohibiting harassment of any kind can still punish employees whose religious beliefs are behind their harassment of gay co-workers. You can’t interfere with an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, but you can punish religious “expression” that interferes with another employee’s rights.

Labor issues looming from new TPP trade agreement

11/23/2015
The recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement will go before Congress for ratification next year. Organized labor has been one of the most vocal critics of the pact and certainly labor leaders will be scrutinizing the agreement’s Chapter 19.