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Employment Law

Remind managers: Zip your lips when it comes to pregnancy

04/03/2013

Regularly re­­mind bosses that they should never comment on an employee’s pregnancy, pregnancy-related problems or the desire to have children. Only two responses are appropriate: Congratulate the employee when things go well and offer condolences when they do not. Anything else may be interpreted as discrimination based on pregnancy.

Audit bonus payments to discover any gender discrimination

04/03/2013
There’s a quick and easy way to determine whether your bonus payment program might be tainted by hidden sex discrimination in violation of either the federal Equal Pay Act or the New York Human Rights Law.

As courts define same-sex harassment, beware behavior that crosses a line

04/03/2013
Ever since the United States Supreme Court decided its first same-sex harassment case, employers have struggled to define what is illegal same-sex harassment and what’s not. Now the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has provided some employer guidance in a case involving male-on-male harassment.

Don’t confuse education with qualifications

04/03/2013

One way for a candidate to prove discrimination in hiring or promotion is to show that he is so much better qualified than other candidates that there should have been no doubt about who got the job. Some candidates mistakenly believe that means if they are the best educated, they win. That’s simply not true.

Poorly timed physical costs NYPD in ADA case

04/03/2013
The NYPD has agreed to a settlement in a disability discrimination case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. An applicant for a school crossing guard position had filed the complaint and later sued, alleging that the NYPD required a physical examination im­­mediately upon completion of a job application.

Beware bias against child-rearing dads

04/03/2013
Here’s a heads-up about a possible new form of sex discrimination litigation. A father who can’t work overtime because he has child-care responsibilities may have a case if he can show that mothers were treated more favorably than fathers when it comes to flexible schedules. So ruled a federal court in New York.

What are the details on new FMLA changes?

04/03/2013
Q. Are we required to put up a new FMLA poster? Did the DOL recently make other FMLA changes we need to know about?

On the DOL’s regulatory horizon: WHD rules, ‘right to know’

04/03/2013

The most recently released regulatory agenda of the DOL focuses on three major areas: 1. A “plan/prevent/protect” strategy that seeks to achieve compliance with workplace laws each and every day. 2. A departmental commitment to openness and transparency. 3. Reducing employee risk.

Feds seek more than $1 million from San Antonio restaurants

04/03/2013
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is seeking a fortune in fortune cookies from three San Antonio-area China Sea Restaurants after an investigation revealed massive minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping violations.

Frisco car wash cleans up act, pays employees back

04/03/2013
Genter’s Detailing in Frisco, Texas, has agreed to pay $22,345 to its employees follow­ing a DOL Wage and Hour Division investigation. The in­­vestigation revealed that the car wash and auto detailer regularly reduced the wages of 53 current and former employees by $200 to $400 for costs allegedly associated with damage to vehicles under their care.