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Employment Law

Kroger to pay $450,000 for disability bias in Plano

10/31/2013
A federal jury has awarded $450,000 to a mentally disabled former Kroger grocery store employee in Plano whose manager constantly insulted him. The EEOC filed a disability discrimination lawsuit on the employee’s behalf in 2012.

When bias claims fly, beware lenient courts

10/31/2013
Here’s an important factor to consider when terminating an employee who has recently complained about alleged discrimination of some sort: If she can show at least a tenuous connection between her complaint (like its timing) and her discharge, she will probably be able to proceed with her lawsuit.

Preserve exempt status: Stick to fixed salary

10/31/2013
­To qualify as exempt under the FLSA, employees must be paid on a “salary basis.” Employers often trigger an FLSA lawsuit—and lose employees’ exempt status—when they try to tinker with a person’s salary based on hours or quality of work.

EEOC says Angel was vengeful

10/30/2013
Angel Medical Center in Franklin faces an EEOC lawsuit for allegedly terminating a nurse who asked for an accommodation that would allow her to keep her job while she received chemotherapy treatment.

Lawsuit after translator at chicken farm gets the ax

10/30/2013

The EEOC has taken up the case of a man who worked as a translator for Haitian workers at a Lumber Bridge chicken farm. The man allegedly complained that Haitian workers at Mountaire Farms were treated more harshly than other employees. He claims that he made one complaint too many and was fired for it.

Settlement helps asthmatic nursing assistant breathe easier

10/30/2013
Camden Place Health and Rehab in Greensboro has settled a disability discrimination claim with a former employee for $51,000. The certified nursing assistant had been fired after she refused to supervise patients during their outdoor smoking breaks.

Draft severance agreements to prevent future lawsuits

10/30/2013
Have a lawyer draft any release that accompanies a severance payment. If the employee sues and the release was carefully written, the court will probably say it bars suing—and may require repaying severance money before the worker can even try challenging the release’s validity.

Annoyed, inconvenienced? That’s not retaliation

10/30/2013
Employees who complain about dis­­crimination can sue if they suffer re­­taliation for complaining. Retaliation is anything that would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining in the first place. The key is “reasonable.”

Worried about firing the only minority? Just follow your own rules

10/30/2013
Sometimes, irrational fear of litigation keeps employers from acting in their own best interests. For example, they may think discharging the sole minority employee will mean a lawsuit. Don’t let paralysis by analysis slow you down.

Headmaster’s harassment results in criminal conviction

10/30/2013
A Wake County jury has convicted the former headmaster of East Wake Academy in Zebulon of one count of sexual battery and another of assault on a female.