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Employment Law

Accommodation failing? Focus on performance

12/13/2013
Employers must reasonably accommodate disabled workers so they can perform the essential functions of their jobs. But what should you do if you have made accommodations and they don’t seem to be working?

Same misconduct warrants same punishment

12/13/2013
You might assume that firing an employee for breaking a safety rule would be “safe” from judicial criticism. But if you don’t punish all workers equally for violating the same rule, you may run into trouble if the employee can show that others outside his protected class weren’t punished as severely.

Does your employee discipline have to be identical?

12/13/2013

Before your organization disciplines an employee, it’s always important to ask these questions: Have other employees violated the same policy? If so, what action did we take against that other em­­ployee? How similar are those two situations? One court recently said employers shouldn’t search for “identical” situations—“similar” is good enough.

U.S. Supreme Court: Key HR law rulings to watch for in early 2014

12/12/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a number of cases during the 2013-14 term that could affect em­­ployers. Look for decisions before the term ends in June 2014.

USERRA

12/12/2013

HR Law 101: USERRA requires employers to re-employ persons returning from duty in the uniformed services if they meet five cirtieria. Employers must provide to service members a notice of their rights, benefits and obligations …

Employee must use own vehicles for work? You could be liable, even on personal stops

12/11/2013
When you require employees to use their personal vehicles to visit clients or conduct other company business, your organization may be liable for injuries if they cause an accident—even if they’re technically not doing company business at the time.

Factor disabled employee needs into planning for natural disasters

12/10/2013
When disaster strikes, smart employers have contingency plans in place to keep the business running. Such plans need to account for the kind of emergency facing the organization—and how it will handle the needs of disabled employees during and after the disaster.

New NYC rules for accommodating pregnant employees take effect

12/10/2013
Beginning Jan. 30, most ­employers with employees working in New York City will be required to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees.

Upstate pizzeria lays out dough for sexual harassment

12/10/2013
The current owners of Angelo’s Pizza in Rouse’s Point on Lake Cham­­plain will pay $35,000 to seven former female employees to settle sexual har­­assment charges dating back to the time of its previous owners.

Judge: Firing was too harsh for heroin-toting teacher

12/10/2013
A judge ruled that firing a teacher who brought 20 small packages of heroin into a Manhattan Court­­room was “excessive and shocking to this court’s sense of fairness.”