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

Employment Law

After job-bias complaint, remind managers to keep calm & manage on

02/23/2015
While employees filed fewer charges of job discrimination in 2014 than the year before, one new statistic from the EEOC should make HR and employers stand up and take notice: More than 2 in 5 charges last year allege some form of retaliation against the employee for pursuing the discrimination claim.

$8 million price wasn’t right for game show

02/23/2015
The producers of “The Price is Right,” TV’s longest-running game show, have learned that negative comments about pregnancies can result in jackpots for employees, to the tune of more than $8 million.

Beware handing out discipline so soon after FMLA request

02/20/2015

When it comes to the FMLA, courts always pull out their stopwatches and calendars to see how closely the employee’s protected activity (requesting or taking FMLA leave) coincides with the adverse action (discipline or firing). As this case shows, the smaller the time, the bigger your risk of liability.

Unfairness isn’t illegal

02/19/2015
Judges can distinguish between an unfair boss and an illegal practice.

NLRB piles on joint-employer charges against McDonald’s

02/18/2015
The National Labor Relations Board has upped the ante in its ongoing effort to brand McDonald’s USA a joint employer along with its franchisees in a series of claims that the fast-food giant engages in unfair labor practices.

Must we provide a place where our customers can pray?

02/18/2015
Q. A customer was in our sales showroom in the process of purchasing merchandise when he asked his sales person to provide him with space where he could pray while the sales person finalized the paperwork. Our sales person was surprised by the request but ended up providing the customer with an empty office. Do we need to accommodate a similar request in the future? We would, of course, accommodate a prayer request from one of our employees. But we have concerns with leaving a customer unattended in our office area.

Weigh EEOC guidance when considering criminal histories

02/18/2015
In April 2012, the EEOC issued comprehensive guidance addressing the use of an applicants’ criminal history in hiring, which it further clarified in March 2014. The guidance offers details and hypotheticals regarding situations when excluding an applicant based on his or her arrest or conviction record could constitute discrimination based on race or national origin in violation of Title VII.

Workers sue Bloomington restaurant for reverse bias

02/18/2015
Panchero’s Mexican Grill in Bloom­­ing­­ton faces charges it fired white workers who worked as line cooks because of their race. The fired workers claim managers openly stated they preferred white workers for management jobs, but wanted only Mexi­­cans for line positions.

Muslim workers sue Hertz for bias

02/18/2015
The Hertz car rental operation at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport faces charges it discriminated against Mus­­lim employees and harassed them. The employees, who worked cleaning vehicles, claimed managers would routinely walk in on their prayers de­­manding to see the employees’ badges.

NLRB: Workers get to decide on locations to be unionized

02/18/2015
If you are in the health care industry and have several facilities, it might be convenient to have one union represent all your employees. Just don’t expect the National Labor Relations Board to buy that argument.