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Employment Law

Courts zapping frivolous litigants with sanctions

07/31/2014
Frivo­­lous lawsuits can take up lots of time and cost thousands of dollars in legal fees before it’s all over. Fortunately, courts are becoming more willing to punish truly frivolous lawsuits and the employees who bring them.

No need to establish absolute proof before terminating alleged harasser

07/31/2014
Employers shouldn’t worry too much about firing an employee they believe sexually harassed another employee. As long as you conduct an investigation and reasonably believe the employee broke company rules against harassment, a court likely won’t second-guess your judgment. You don’t have to be absolutely right… just honest.

Employee not ready to return after FMLA leave? She may be eligible for additional unpaid leave

07/31/2014
Do you have a rule that says employees who aren’t ready to return from FMLA leave when their time is up face termination? If so, consider providing at least limited flexibility under one circumstance.

Workweek isn’t based on consecutive days

07/31/2014

Under the FLSA, employees are entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 in any workweek. However, the law doesn’t specify how a workweek is determined…

Flexible schedules bill runs into inflexible congressional calendar

07/30/2014
Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced the Schedules that Work Act, which would give nonexempt employees the right to request flexible work schedules without fear of retaliation.

Obama signs order prohibiting LGBT bias at fed contractors

07/29/2014
President Obama made good on his June 16 promise that he would ban federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers and job applicants. An executive order signed July 21 applies to companies with contracts worth $10,000 or more.

Can we limit our applicant pool to U.S. citizens?

07/29/2014
Q. Is it legal to hire only U.S. citizens and, when advertising, say that people must be citizens to apply?

One circuit court guts ACA, another revives it

07/28/2014

On July 22, a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a potentially lethal blow to the Affordable Care Act, ruling that health insurance premium subsidies on which the ACA’s individual mandate depends are illegal in states that don’t run their own insurance exchanges. Two hours later, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reached exactly the opposite conclusion.

When does ‘almost eligible’ qualify for FMLA?

07/25/2014

Eligibility for job-protected FMLA leave kicks in for employees after they’ve worked at a covered employer for at least 12 months (and for 1,250 hours). But take note: That doesn’t mean you can fire employees who request FMLA leave just days before they hit their 12-month anniversary date. As this new case shows, employees can use other accrued leave to “bridge the gap” until they reach the 12-month eligibility limit.

Am I allowed to search a worker’s backpack?

07/23/2014
Q. One of my workers brought a backpack into work today that I have reason to believe contains illegal substances. The worker stored the bag in his company-provided locker. Can I search his belongings?