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Employment Law

Being yelled at isn’t grounds for quitting

08/13/2015
Not all workplaces are civil and pleasant environments. Supervisors and co-workers sometimes lose their tempers and raise their voices. If it doesn’t happen often and isn’t related to a protected characteristic such as race, occasional yelling  doesn’t justify quitting.

Denying employee a mat to stand on cost salon $27K

08/13/2015
Chiquita, a hairdresser in Atlanta, has scoliosis and asked her employer to provide her with a mat to help alleviate her back pain. The salon refused …

Effects of EEOC settlements linger for years

08/11/2015
Need another reason to prevent discrimination and harassment? You could wind up paying for infractions for a very long time to come.

Less than a month for employers to comment on white-collar OT rule

08/10/2015
Unless a requested extension goes through, employers only have until Sept. 4 to submit comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule that would raise the salary threshold that makes white-collar employees eligible for overtime pay.

Is DOL’s Wage & Hour Division looking at you?

08/10/2015
Recent initiatives by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division can cause very real problems, particularly for employers in low-wage industries. They’re a target-rich environment for cracking down on minimum wage and overtime pay violations. What’s the best way to stay out of WHD’s cross hairs?

Ensure direct way to report discrimination to HR

08/05/2015
If you don’t know about alleged discrimination, you can’t fix it. That’s why you should inform employees that they should report discrimination directly to HR. Then tell supervisors they must pass along every bias complaint—and warn them that they’ll be disciplined if they tell employees to keep their complaints quiet.

You can require early involuntary FMLA leave

07/31/2015
Do you have an employee with a serious health condition you cannot accommodate? You can insist that she take FMLA leave. There is no legal requirement to go along with her suggestions for elaborate and expensive accommodations that might let her continue working.

What are the ‘off-the-clock work’ trouble spots?

07/30/2015
Q. Some of my employees have been griping that a portion of their job duties involves “off-the-clock” work. What are the rules regarding off-the-clock work, and what are some examples?

When can we search employees’ lockers?

07/29/2015
Q. An alarming amount of cash and inventory has gone missing from my retail store. I have also smelled odor of illegal drugs in the store. Am I authorized to search employees’ lockers for cash, inventory and drugs?

New challenge for Texas employers: Transgender employees’ restroom rights

07/29/2015

Time was when an employer’s only preoccupation with restrooms was whether the cleaning crew was keeping them stocked with soap, towels and toilet paper. Enter the new reality: Federal agencies and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights groups are contending that transgender employees should be given the right to choose between restrooms having an “M” or a “W” on the door.