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Employment Law

Drug tests: What to do about ‘watered down’ results?

09/12/2014
Q. We have a couple of workers who keep getting “negative dilute” results of drug tests. Our policy is to not accept the result and to retest. Can we require the retest to be an observed collection?

22% of workforce covered by ban on transgender bias

09/10/2014
According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, which tracks gay-rights issues in the workplace, more than a fifth of U.S. workers will be covered by the Department of Labor’s August announcement that it will interpret prohibitions on sex discrimination in a recent Obama administration executive order to include discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status.

Can workplace cliques be proof of racial discrimination?

09/09/2014
You may think that what employees do in the breakroom or at post-work happy hours is their own business. That could be an expensive mistake.

‘Onionhead’ religion? Who’s crying now?

09/08/2014
Federal law says employees “cannot be forced to participate in a religious activity as a condition of employment.” And while most such lawsuits involve Bibles on desks or crosses around necks, a new religious harassment case centers around vegetables.

Supreme Court to decide key employment law cases this term

09/05/2014
Cases heard starting Oct. 6 will decide questions involving the reach of federal agencies that enforce employment laws.

New York amends Human Rights Law to protect unpaid interns

09/05/2014
On July 22, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that amends the New York Human Rights Law by adding a new Section 296-c titled, “Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns.”

Ex-intern files class action against Marvel Entertainment

09/05/2014
The new amendment to the New York Human Rights Law adding protections for unpaid interns does not address the status of those interns who claim they should be compensated employees. Those cases appear to be working through the courts on a separate path.

Why you need complete records of hiring process

09/05/2014
It’s crucial to keep good records of the hiring process, including tracking applicant experience levels. After all, you never know which applicant will sue, alleging that he was passed over for a discriminatory reason.

Ensure your grooming policies are color blind

09/05/2014
Do you cut slack for some employees when enforcing your grooming policies? If so, there may be a race discrimination lawsuit in your future.

FLSA overtime rules don’t apply to truly small and local businesses

09/05/2014
Some very small employers are truly so tiny that they’re not covered by Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules.