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Employment Law

Calling in sick doesn’t count as FMLA notice

01/12/2015

Employees are supposed to let  employers know when they may need FMLA leave, although they don’t have to specifically mention the law. However, simply calling in to report being “sick” isn’t good enough. Not every illness is covered and run-of-the-mill sickness isn’t a “serious health condition.”

Federal court delays overtime rule for some home health aides

01/06/2015
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on New Year’s Eve issued a temporary restraining order to temporarily stop the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing a rule that would have made many live-in home health care aides eligible for overtime pay.

What are some resources for classifying employees and independent contractors?

01/05/2015
Q. I am assistant HR director for a small company that uses independent contractors as well as full- and part-time employees. In my role, I must ensure that these workers are accurately classified as either employees or contractors, and that my company fully complies with federal and state tax and labor laws. What is out there to assist me in accurately classifying the workers performing services for our firm?

EEOC sues oilfield contractor over alleged sexual harassment

01/05/2015
An oilfield services company in Iraan, Texas, faces an EEOC lawsuit after its only female roust­­about was fired.

Disabled win $6.6 million from the SSA

01/05/2015
Current and former employees of the Social Security Administration will receive $6.6 million to settle charges the agency failed to accommodate disabled workers and denied them promotions. A federal judge has given preliminary approval to the deal.

Austin bus company to pay $655K to settle labor dispute

01/05/2015
Travis Transit Management of Austin has agreed to pay 600 current and former employees $655,000 to settle charges it unilaterally changed employee health, retirement and other benefits when it began providing bus service for Austin’s Capital Metro in 2012.

With handbook warning, it’s OK to deviate from policy

01/05/2015
It’s OK to occasionally deviate from the disciplinary process outlined in your employee handbook—if you leave yourself some wiggle room by explaining that some infractions are so serious they warrant immediate discharge.

Investigate all bias claims, even reverse discrimination

01/05/2015
It may not be common, but reverse discrimination does occur. Ignore it at your peril.

Court refuses to punish employer for scrubbing employee’s cellphone

01/05/2015
A federal court has dismissed a former employee’s claim under the Electronics Communication Privacy Act alleging that his employer illegally destroyed valuable information when it remotely wiped clean his iPhone after he resigned. That’s good news for IT departments that must protect company information that might be stored on former employees’ smartphones.

Courts reluctant to make losing employees pay for employers’ legal fees

01/05/2015

It can be frustrating to have to defend your organization against what you consider frivolous claims. Unfortunately, that’s just another cost of doing business. As the following case shows, even when you win the case and thought it should never have been filed, you probably won’t persuade a court to penalize the employee by having him pay your legal fees.