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Employment Law

Give lots of notice before changing FMLA rules

06/01/2015

Employees who need FMLA leave must notify their employers either 30 days before, if the need is foreseeable, or as soon as “practicable” if the need is unforeseeable. Thus, elective surgery requires 30 days’ notice, while emergency surgery does not. Lots of employers, however, have far less formal rules in place. Some allow a simple doctor’s note to stand in as a request for FMLA leave.

Long list of EEOC complaints costs Chicago temp agency $800K

05/31/2015
A Chicago-area staffing agency that checked almost all the boxes on the EEOC’s what-not-to-do list has agreed to settle two lawsuits filed on behalf of temp workers.

Texas Supreme Court: Opposing merely inappropriate acts not protected

05/29/2015
The Supreme Court of Texas has decided a case brought under Texas law that will help employers defend themselves against retaliation claims.

DOL touts efforts enforcing FLSA in Texas oil fields

05/29/2015
The U.S. Department of Labor claims a recent enforcement initiative in the oil fields of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico has resulted in workers recovering $1.3 million in lost wages. The DOL Wage and Hour Division oil and gas initiative began in late 2014.

Beware legal risks of raising employees’ titles in lieu of pay

05/29/2015
When budgets for raises are lean, it’s tempting to reward employees with a better title than a hefty pay increase. That’s risky.

Impatient court grants quick dismissal of pro se case

05/29/2015
Courts are losing patience with employees who act as their own lawyers in discrimination cases but don’t complain to the EEOC before filing lawsuits. A federal court recently gave such a pro se litigant just 15 days to prove she had first gone to the commission.

Using slurs at work isn’t ‘free speech’

05/29/2015

Public employees have the right to speak their minds on matters of public importance without punishment. However, that right is clearly limited. A public employee can’t claim that free speech includes the right to use derogatory terms at work.

Don’t sweat legit transfers: Lateral moves OK if they truly don’t affect pay and benefits

05/29/2015

In order to claim that a transfer or a realignment of duties qualifies as an adverse employment action, employees must show that the transfer or job changes were somehow potentially harmful. That’s especially true in the case of job changes that spring from a lateral move across the organization chart, with the same pay and benefits.

No such thing as ‘overqualified’: Don’t automatically reject skilled older applicant

05/29/2015
Older workers tend to have more overall experience and may seem overqualified for entry-level positions. Don’t reject those candidates, though. Doing so may set you up for a discrimination lawsuit.

Houston strip club owners appeal jury’s award to dancers

05/29/2015
The legal dance between Tiffany’s Cabaret in Houston and two former performers is not quite over. The club’s parent company has appealed a jury’s six-figure award to the exotic dancers.