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Employment Law

Warn bosses: No comments on national origins, no matter which nation

06/24/2014
Remind supervisors that they may not joke or make assumptions about employees based on where they were born, their origins or other national or ethnic characteristics.

Don’t let rogue supervisor destroy your solid training and promotion program

06/24/2014

You may think you have a great training program that helps good employees acquire new skills and then promotes the best ones. But it takes just one rogue super­visor to sink the best training if you don’t have checks and balances to make sure it is being used appropriately.

Beware retaliation against whistle-blowers

06/24/2014
Employees who sue for alleged retaliation after reporting safety problems in the workplace have a new and powerful ally: the Cali­for­nia Labor Commissioner’s office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

OK to terminate if ADA accommodation fails

06/24/2014
Sometimes, a disabled employee simply cannot perform his or her job to the standards you legitimately expect. If you make reasonable accommodations and try to find a way for the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job, you have done all you are required to do. You can terminate the employee for poor performance.

Executive order will ban LGBT bias for federal contractors

06/24/2014
President Obama plans to sign an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and job applicants, according to White House officials.

NLRB: Ban on ‘inappropriate’ conduct is illegal

06/23/2014

You read that right. Soon you will recall the good ol’ days when employee handbooks could prohibit employees from having a “discourteous or inappropriate attitude or behavior.” The NLRB in April ruled that such language was too broad and could possibly deter employees from discussing their pay or working conditions with colleagues.

Administration to extend FMLA rights to all same-sex spouses

06/20/2014
The Labor Department’s proposed rule would affect employees nationwide.

Federal contractors: New rule will ban anti-gay bias

06/20/2014
The White House announced June 16 that President Obama will soon issue an executive order that bans federal contractors from discriminating in hiring, firing, compensation or work conditions based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Demand the medical info you need to set up ADA accommodations

06/18/2014

Disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations, which must be decided on the basis of an interactive discussion between the employer and employee. Some employees, perhaps sensitive about their medical histories, try to limit the information their employers can see. That can compromise the interactive process.

How to maintain independent contractor status: Don’t exert too much control

06/17/2014
You may be tempted to reclassify certain workers as independent contractors to avoid taxes, benefits and other liabilities. But federal and state agencies are getting tougher on weeding out misclassifications.