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Employment Law

Employee committed firing offense? Terminate ASAP–or else prepare for court

03/06/2014
If you don’t terminate an employee for an obvious firing of­­fense but later use that reason to justify a discharge, you’d better have a good explanation for the delay. Otherwise, a jury may see the move as a pretext for some form of discrimination.

When criminal records are at issue, prepare to explain rationale for firing or not hiring

03/06/2014

Employees who lose a job often don’t believe the discharge reason their employer provides. They look for some apparent underlying illegal discrimination and sue. Smart employers are ready to explain the entire discharge process from beginning to end.

Firing after complaint won’t always prove bias

03/06/2014
Don’t let what you know is a meritless complaint keep you from disciplining an employee. If you can show the process was already under way and you had a solid business reason, go ahead and discipline the worker.

Document exactly why you fired troublemaker

03/06/2014
Do you have an employee who is so disruptive that co-workers repeatedly complain? You may have to fire her. Before you do, carefully document how her behavior negatively affects the workplace and what rules she is breaking.

Accommodation discussions: How interactive must they be?

03/06/2014

The ADA gives disabled employees the right to request “reasonable accommodations” to do the essential functions of their jobs. To choose those accommodations, em­­ployer and employee must engage in an “informal, interactive process.” But when does the employer get to draw the line?

Disabled worker says her job is too stressful; must you restructure it to remove stress?

03/05/2014
How far does an employer have to go to accommodate the effects of stress if an employee is disabled? The answer: probably not very far if stress is a key part of the person’s job, as the following case shows.

Harassment: A little hostility can = big liability

03/04/2014
Typically, if a court is considering whether an employee worked in a sexually hostile work environment, it will look at weeks, months or even years of conduct. But as the following case shows, only a few days of unresolved, severe harassment can become the basis of a suit.

ACA: Health benefit waiting periods capped at 90 days

02/28/2014
Employer-sponsored group health plans cannot impose waiting periods that exceed 90 days after an employee is otherwise eligible for insurance coverage under a final Affordable Care Act rule issued Feb. 20 by the Obama administration.

Researchers: ACA will improve incomes of poor

02/28/2014
The ACA will raise household incomes for the poorest fifth of Americans, while higher income groups will experience small losses, according to a new Brookings Institution study.

If business takes a turn for the worse, do we still have to hold job after FMLA?

02/28/2014
Q. Under Texas law, if I have an employee returning from maternity leave, do I have to give her the same job hours as before her leave? The reason for the reduction in hours is due to sales being down.