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

Employment Law

Court: Bullying alone isn’t grounds for lawsuit

10/08/2014
A former employee has tried to advance a new legal theory by suing over alleged workplace bullying. His efforts failed and employers won’t have to worry about another new lawsuit flood.

New York employees entitled to voting leave Nov. 4

10/08/2014
The midterm election on Nov. 4 won’t draw as many employees away from their desks as a presidential election, but it’s still important to know if they must be given leave to vote—and be paid for it.

When is an employee covered by the FMLA?

10/07/2014
Q. An employee has worked for us for 12 months, but the service has not been consecutive. Does he still qualify for leave under the FMLA?

Texas employers: Getting bias cases into federal court just got a little easier

10/07/2014

“You have been sued.” When employers first read these words and realize the lawsuit launched against them is in a state court, most Texas employers—indeed, most employers—make it their first order of business to get the case moved to a federal court. Why? Defense attorneys cite various advantages to be gained from such a change, which is known as removal.

Trouble bubbles at valve plant in San Antonio

10/07/2014
San Antonio-based Taprite Fassco Manufacturing, a company that supplies CO2 regulators to the beer and soda industries, may get a bit of indigestion courtesy of the EEOC. The commission is suing the company, alleging that it demoted a female employee who raised concerns that men were paid more than women in comparable positions.

Miscalculating overtime pay costs San Antonio company almost $150K

10/07/2014
San Antonio-based Costa Solutions has agreed to pay 63 current and former employees $146,459 in back pay and overtime following a DOL investigation. Costa provides logistics and freight-handling services to retail business, including the H-E-B Grocery chain.

Texas recognizes unjust enrichment as legitimate claim

10/07/2014
Texas courts will recognize a claim of unjust enrichment as part of a lawsuit alleging that a purchaser or seller breached the contract terms of the sale. In other words, such a lawsuit can include more than a breach-of-­contract claim; plaintiffs can also argue that the breach unjustly enriched the breaching party.

Resist qualification inflation: Super skills don’t make position exempt

10/07/2014

The U.S. Department of Labor considers the minimum job requirements for a position—not the people who hold those jobs—when determining whether the employees are nonexempt, hourly workers or exempt under the FLSA. If you hire overqualified applicants, their training and experience doesn’t transform the job from hourly to exempt.

Don’t play God! It’s not up to you to decide what’s a real religious belief

10/07/2014

Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Some employers take this to mean they get to decide what constitutes a genuine religious belief—and nix requests for time off for religious observances that don’t fit their defi­nition. That’s legal blasphemy!

Where legal trouble lurks: Even unwritten rules must be enforced fairly and consistently

10/07/2014
Before disciplining an employee who says she did what she did because her supervisor told her it was OK, make sure others following the same informal rule were treated the same. If you fire or demote one, you must fire or demote the other.