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Employment Law

Refund claim sinks on no proof of mailing

03/14/2014
Drop a tax return in the mail on the day it’s due and it’s considered timely filed, under the IRS’ timely-mailing-is-timely-filing rule. But you must still have proof that you mailed it—a registered or certified mail receipt, for example. A taxpayer who couldn’t present a receipt was out of luck for his refund, ruled a federal appeals court.

Do we have to tolerate ‘Duck Dynasty religion’ hat?

03/14/2014
Q. We let a female cashier at our restaurant wear a religious head covering, despite our policy against hats. Now, a male employee has started wearing a camouflage cap, claiming his religious idol is Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty.” He says his “religion” is sincere. Can we tell him to remove the cap?

Electronic signatures: What HR professionals need to know

03/13/2014

For centuries, a signature at the bottom of a piece of paper has meant someone agrees with what the document says. But now many of our documents are made of electrons instead of wood pulp.
Can keystrokes carry the same legal weight as strokes of the pen?

EEOC settles GINA discrimination lawsuit with N.Y. employer

03/13/2014

In January, the EEOC announced it had reached a settlement with Founders Pavilion, a former nursing and rehabilitation center in Corning. The EEOC had sued, alleging that Founders violated the Gene­­tic Information Non­­dis­­crimi­­na­­tion Act. The case marked only the third time the EEOC has brought a lawsuit alleging an employer violated GINA. It was the first time a GINA suit alleged systemic discrimination.

Cuomo proposes hotline for Albany harassment complaints

03/13/2014
Following a rash of sexual harassment complaints against state legislators, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has proposed an independent investigator for complaints against members of New York’s legislative and executive branches.

‘Game over’ for NYC worker, ‘game on’ for retaliation suit

03/13/2014
A snarky reply to an employee’s email—plus alleged retaliation—has landed a Manhattan firm in legal hot water.

ADA: Employer gets to pick reasonable accommodation

03/13/2014
Some employees believe that once their employer agrees that they are disabled, they can demand a specific accommodation. But that’s not true. In fact, it is the employer that gets to pick a reasonable accommodation.

Everyday rudeness and backbiting doesn’t necessarily mean hostile work environment

03/13/2014

When people are thrown to­­gether in the workplace, per­­s­­onality conflicts are almost inevitable. But unless there’s seriously abusive behavior or particularly offensive language, an occasionally rude workplace won’t be labeled hostile by a court.

Long history of misconduct? Document every step of disciplinary process

03/13/2014

When an employee is fired, he or she has nothing to lose by suing you. That’s why you should assume that every employee will do just that and prepare accordingly. That includes making sure you have documented every step of the disciplinary process, providing details and dates.

OK to fire despite isolated ‘old man’ comment

03/13/2014
Some employees joke around by calling other workers “old man” or making other insensitive ageist comments. You should certainly discourage comments that diminish employees, customers or others based on their protected characteristics. However, a few isolated incidents won’t mean a lost lawsuit if you also make sure that you terminate employees only for legitimate business reasons.