Employment Law

FMLA: Military Family Leave

12/01/2013

HR Law 101: The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 granted new leave rights to family members of men and women who serve in the military. Because the NDAA amended the FMLA, the changes apply only to employers with 50 or more employees.

Is there a legal way to ask if candidates will be able to work weekends and after hours?

11/27/2013

Q. We are currently interviewing for an event coordinator position, which would require the person to frequently work well beyond the usual 9-to-5 workweek. Is there a way we can ask about personal situations and make it clear that missing these events because of family obligations would not be tolerated?

Accommodating religion in the 21st century workplace

11/27/2013

Employers are often reluctant to raise concerns over the impact of an employee’s religious practices. Those issues generally aren’t considered to be job-related, and the fear is that addressing them might cause a discrimination lawsuit.

Coatesville superintendent, AD resign over racist texts

11/27/2013

The Coatesville Area School District superintendent and athletic director have both resigned after bigoted text messages between the two came to light when a technician transferred their data to new employer-provided phones.

EEOC sues over alleged ‘mark of the beast’ monitoring

11/27/2013

The EEOC is suing Canonsburg-based CONSOL Energy on behalf of an evangelical Christian who retired from his job rather than submit to biometric scanning designed to track his work time and activities.

Isolated attack not grounds for harassment lawsuit

11/27/2013

Employers can control some hazardous work conditions, but not all of them. What a particular customer or client may do when he comes in contact with an employee likely falls into the uncontrollable category.

Employee prone to mistakes? That doesn’t mean she’s disabled

11/27/2013

Some employees can’t seem to get it together and do their jobs properly. While an underlying medical or psychological problem may be the cause, don’t assume that’s the case if the employee hasn’t asked for help or a reasonable accommodation.

2 tactics to prevent needless litigation: Online applications and blind screening

11/27/2013

One way to ensure “blind” hiring is to create an online application process that doesn’t ask for protected-class information. Then perform initial screening without actually interviewing candidates.

Supreme Court to rule on ACA contraceptive mandate

11/27/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases arguing opposite sides of the debate on an ACA provision requiring employer-provided health insurance to cover birth control.

Don’t let handbook create a contract

11/27/2013

Here are two easy steps to prevent your employee handbook from turning into a binding contract.