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Employment Law

Will contempt order melt DQ’s resolve not to pay?

05/31/2013
Back in December 2011, the operator of a Dairy Queen restaurant in Winston-Salem’s Hanes Mall agreed to settle an EEOC lawsuit involving a teen worker who claimed she was retaliated against for complaining about sexual harassment. But nothing happened, so a year and a half later, the EEOC decided to up the ante.

Disabled worker can’t perform? OK to terminate

05/31/2013
Sometimes, it’s obvious that a disabled employee isn’t going to be able to perform her job, with or without accommodations. As long as you have documented your efforts to help, rest assured a court probably won’t fault you for terminating the employee.

Use good notes to shoot down retaliation suits

05/31/2013

One of the easiest ways for an em­­ployee to win a lawsuit against his employer is to allege retaliation. That’s because retaliation is anything that would dissuade a reasonable employee from complaining in the first place. Fortunately, some courts are becoming more skeptical about retaliation lawsuits.

8 steps for investigating, stopping harassment

05/31/2013
Sexual harassment! It’s the cry that strikes terror in the hearts of most HR pros. The good news, according to employment law attorney Jon Hyman: Eight straightforward steps can minimize your liability.

Worker complains and then quits: Investigate anyway, to prove what happened

05/31/2013
When you receive a discrimination or harassment complaint, it’s essential to launch an immediate investigation. Even if the employee quits, continue the investigation. That way, in case of a lawsuit, you can show the court you took the complaint seriously.

What can we tell co-workers about a new employee’s sex change and transgender status?

05/30/2013
Q. We recently hired an experienced salesperson. Dur­­ing her orientation, she told HR that she recently underwent a sex change procedure and that she is transgender. A few days later, another employee went to HR and explained that he had known the salesperson in a previous job before her sex change. This employee is clearly uncomfortable and asked for advice on what he can say to the new employee and others on the team about their former working relationship?

Vial behavior: When does odd conduct allow for drug test?

05/29/2013
We all have days when we show up to work in a bad mood and maybe even a bit “word challenged.” But when do those signs signal that an employee should be sent for a drug test? A court ruling last month gave great insights into making sure your drug testing policy and practices are properly aligned with the law …

If exempt employee fields calls or emails on a sick day, is it still a sick day?

05/28/2013
Q. If a salaried manager is contacted via phone or email while out on a sick day and she responds, would that constitute work performed? Would that still be considered a sick day?

Should we track exempts’ sick time?

05/28/2013
Q. Our company gives eight hours of sick leave per month to nonexempt employees. We’ve been told that, under the FLSA, exempt employees are to be paid whenever they are sick. So our exempt employees have virtually an unlimited sick-leave balance. Is this a correct way to interpret the FLSA? Should we have some type of sick-leave accrual and tracking for our exempts?

Get ahead of legislation: 8 steps to building a strong anti-bullying policy

05/28/2013
When we think of bullying, we usually think of kids at school, not adults in the workplace. But, according to a 2010 survey, 35% of American workers have been bullied at work. Unfortunately for those employees, there are currently no federal or state laws that specifically prohibit bullying in the workplace. That may soon change.