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Employment Law

Settlement proves race discrimination still rampant

01/18/2023
A Black radiographer who was subject to racist remarks by his white supervisor complained to the company’s vice president, yet no corrective action was taken, and he was fired, according to an EEOC lawsuit.

Supersized harassment settlement highlights the extra care needed when employing minors

01/18/2023
How bad must sexual harassment be for an employer to settle a harassment case for $2 million? This bad.

McDonald’s franchisee to pay almost $2 million to settle sexual harassment lawsuit

01/18/2023
McDonald’s is in the news again for sexual harassment, this time to settle an EEOC suit involving a Kingman, Ariz., franchise owner operating approximately 18 McDonald’s restaurants in Nevada, Arizona and California. The company will pay $1,997,500.

How to manage pregnancy-related accommodations

01/18/2023
With the recent passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, all pregnant women are now entitled to reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related complications. A recent case decided before the PWFA became law offers tips on how to handle pregnancy-related accommodation requests.

Court dismisses EPA case as push for pay equity intensifies

01/18/2023
To win an EPA case, the worker must show that the opposite sex was paid more for “equal work requiring substantially similar skill, effort and responsibilities performed under similar working conditions.” That’s increasingly difficult in a work environment where numerous new jobs rely on extremely specialized skills, making it almost impossible to prove jobs are substantially similar enough to allow a comparison.

How to avoid being set up for an FMLA lawsuit

01/18/2023
It’s fairly common for workers facing discipline to request FMLA leave, believing that means their employer can’t fire them. It’s a way of setting up a potential FMLA retaliation lawsuit. A recent case shows exactly how employers can avoid being set up.

DOL provides FMLA guidance for workers living with cancer

01/18/2023
The Department of Labor created some new resources to help workers living with cancer understand their rights under the FMLA.

Pay for travel time to voluntary OT shift?

01/17/2023
If an hourly employee has to travel from one location to another to continue their principal activities during the workday, then that’s paid time. Commuting time, however, is unpaid. But what if an employee completes a full shift at one location and voluntarily takes on an overtime shift at a different location?

Case of the Week: Ten-hut! Follow Marine Corps’ new religious grooming rules

01/13/2023
Marines Corps basic training strives to tamp down individuality and nonconformity in favor of uniformity in dress and grooming. For decades, male recruits have had to cut their hair, shave their beards and don the Marine uniform. Now a lawsuit by Sikh recruits has forced the Marines to accept that dress and grooming standards can’t be so rigid that they discriminate on the basis of religion.

Ignore DOL investigators, leave work in handcuffs

01/13/2023
The owner of three northern New Jersey restaurants has learned that not cooperating with a federal investigation and ignoring federal court orders can earn you a trip to jail.