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Employment Law

Top 10: The basic rules every HR pro must follow

11/26/2013
While lawsuits may be practically inevitable in today’s litigious society, losing them is not. Ten rules to follow:

Cary salesman’s last-ditch affidavit saves age bias case

11/26/2013
A former car salesman who claimed a Cary dealership fired him because it felt selling cars was a “young man’s game” appears to have plucked victory from the jaws of legal defeat.

Warren County schools agree to settle USERRA suit

11/26/2013
The Warren County Board of Edu­­ca­­tion has settled a USERRA complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. The case involved an assistant principal at Warren County High School who is also a sergeant in the Army Reserve.

One-time offensive comment not enough for a lawsuit

11/26/2013
Co-workers can and do get into arguments with other employees and may say things that are downright offensive. But courts expect employees to have relatively thick skins, at least when the perceived harassment is coming from co-workers and not a supervisor.

Employee acts as own lawyer? You’ll need to be patient

11/26/2013
When so-called pro se litigants represent themselves before the EEOC and in federal court, you’ll need patience. It will pay off in the long run.

High-level managers have pay discretion? You’re courting a class-action lawsuit

11/26/2013
Broad discretion about compensation at the bottom of the pay scale usually prevents employees from pursuing a class-action lawsuit similar to the one in the Supreme Court’s 2011 landmark Wal-Mart v. Dukes case. However, all bets are off if the issue is pay for higher-level employees.

Ensure bosses provide training for everyone

11/26/2013
Here’s a tip that can save you from needless litigation: Make sure supervisors don’t play favorites with some employees at the expense of others. You never know which employee will later claim she was excluded from the “inner circle” that got preferential treatment because of a protected characteristic.

Take steps to stop blatant customer harassment

11/26/2013
Employers can’t control everything—including situations in which customers harass employees. As long as you take reasonable measures to prevent or stop blatant harassment, a single incident won’t mean you will be liable for customer harassment.

OSHA rule would add electronic injury reporting mandate

11/25/2013
A proposed OSHA rule would require employers of 250 or more employees to submit quarterly injury reports electronically. The rule—to be finalized next year—wouldn’t add new recordkeeping requirements but would accelerate the injury-reporting process.

What should we do about email still on former employee’s company-issued cellphone?

11/19/2013
Q. We give our employees company phones. An employee recently resigned and turned in her phone to her supervisor, in compliance with our technology policy. A week later, it came to my attention that the supervisor had not deleted the departed employee’s email that was still on the phone. A new hire who had been issued the phone could read those messages. What should we do?