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Employment Law

California Supreme Court issues key arbitration decision

07/23/2014
The California Supreme Court has issued a long-awaited decision in an important arbitration case. The decision is generally good news for employers seeking to use class-action arbitration waivers to deter wage-and-hour class actions. It’s less helpful to those attempting to fight off wage-and-hour “representative” actions.

Is ‘We’re short-staffed’ a legal reason to deny medical leave?

07/21/2014
Employers must be fully staffed to function efficiently. But what if you’re already short-staffed and an employee requests leave for a last-minute medical appointment? Just how much scheduling chaos must you tolerate before saying “no”?

Supreme Court to hear PDA accommodation case

07/18/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case that will determine if the Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers to grant light-duty accommodations to pregnant workers.

Harassment: How to stop it before–and after–it starts

07/17/2014
Protect your organization from harassment lawsuits by focusing your attention on both preventive and corrective measures.

What’s next for NLRB after Supreme Court’s Canning decision?

07/16/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous June 26 ruling in NLRB v. Canning that three of President Obama’s 2012 appointments to the NLRB were illegal means that some 600 NLRB decisions made between January 2012 and July 2013 must be reheard.

Telecommuting a reasonable accommodation?

07/15/2014
Q. We have an employee with a disability who has requested to work from home part time as an accommodation for her disability. Are we required to grant this request?

Separation agreements: Use arbitration agreements instead of claims releases?

07/15/2014
Q. We have seen that some companies are requiring their employees to agree to arbitration rather than a release of claims in their separation agreements. Is this an alternative worth exploring?

How should we manage family leave that isn’t covered by the FMLA?

07/15/2014
Q. We hired an employee just a few months ago, so he does not qualify for leave under the FMLA. He has requested intermittent time off to care for a family member. We would like to allow him to take the time off, but we aren’t sure how to handle the situation outside of the FMLA. What is your advice?

New EEOC guidelines expand legal protections for pregnant employees

07/15/2014
Employers can now be required to provide accommodations to this class of workers.

Dakota County, Minn. workforce center settles disability case

07/15/2014
The Dakota County Burnsville Work­­force Center has agreed to settle federal charges that it discriminated against a client by perceiving her to have a disability.