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Employment Law

Avoid letting client prejudice send you to court

09/22/2022
Here’s a warning about indulging prejudices. Judges don’t want to hear the excuse that you discriminated against a protected class member because your customer, patient or client demanded you do.

Employment nonprofit settles race discrimination

09/20/2022
A Black employee working for a nonprofit at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming was subjected to racial slurs and other offensive racial comments by a White colleague.

Diner ordered to dish up $1.35 million

09/20/2022
The Empire Diner in Lansdowne, Pa., learned the hard way it’s not nice to steal your servers’ tips.

Court tosses anti-vax claim of religious exemption

09/15/2022
Handling requests to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs or practices can be tricky because the law defines religion rather loosely. Workers with beliefs clearly far outside mainstream religions are still protected from employment discrimination.

SHRM lawsuit puts spotlight on evaluations

09/15/2022
The best way to defend against a surprise discrimination lawsuit is to conduct accurate, regular reviews that assess a worker’s performance using as many objective standards as possible. Those evaluations then serve to back up any disciplinary action you take, even if the employee files an internal bias complaint and follows up with a lawsuit claiming subsequent discipline amounted to retaliation.

Public approval of labor unions highest in 57 years

09/15/2022
Almost seven in 10 Americans have a favorable view of labor unions, according to a Gallup poll released Aug. 30.

Take care when adopting AI for use in HR

09/15/2022
Artificial intelligence has become an indispensable HR tool. But like most tools, AI can be dangerous if it is not used properly.

Beware shutting down to avoid unionization

09/15/2022
Organized labor is enjoying a renaissance. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, union representation petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board have increased 58%. For employers, the trend means employees may be far more likely to unionize than ever before.

Dobbs follow-up: First court decision addresses HIPAA’s privacy provisions

09/12/2022
A federal court weighs in on employee privacy concerns in the wake of new state medical reporting rules.

Pulling accommodation? You need a business reason

09/08/2022
It can be legally risky to withdraw an ADA reasonable accommodation that has been previously approved and implemented. However, it’s not impossible—if the employer can demonstrate a solid business reason why the change was necessary.