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Employment Law

No need to accommodate when absence goes beyond all paid, unpaid leave

02/20/2013

You have probably read that once a disabled employee has exhausted his FMLA and other sick leave, you should still consider offering a brief leave extension as a reasonable accommodation. That’s true to a point. However, once you have allowed additional leave and the employee still isn’t cleared to return to work, it may be time to terminate him despite his disability.

Worker has ADA-covered disability? Disclose only to those who need to know

02/20/2013

Employees asking for ADA disability accommodations often end up providing very private details about their health. Carefully guard that information so only those who have a real need to know about it are privy to the employee’s condition. That means you should establish a strict protocol for distributing health-related information.

Give HR the last word on terminations: Supervisor bias can taint firing decisions

02/20/2013
It’s never a good idea to “throw the book” at an employee just be­­cause a supervisor wants to get rid of her. Before approving discipline, check to make sure this isn’t an illegal effort to terminate. Ask why the supervisor wants to fire the employee.

‘Dodger Dog’ makers burned by DOL bias probe

02/20/2013
Cloherty Packing Co.—makers of Dod­­ger Stadium’s famed “Dodger Dogs” frankfurters—has agreed to settle federal charges it discriminated against women at its Los Angeles plant.

Bias complaint? Beware ‘helpful’ career advice

02/20/2013

It happens all too often: A supervisor hears that a subordinate wants to file a discrimination complaint and warns that following through might harm the worker’s career. It usually takes the form of a caution that complaining will brand the employee as a “troublemaker” and could cost promotion opportunities. The supervisor may genuinely believe that, but expressing it is a bad idea …

Must we accommodate a bike courier who can no longer ride a bike?

02/20/2013
Q. We run a courier service delivering time-sensitive documents around the Twin Cities by bicycle. Recently, an employee broke her leg while skiing. Now she is unable to perform her job as bicycle courier. Do we have to put her in a different job while her leg is in a cast?

Is left-handedness a real disability?

02/20/2013
Q. An employee recently complained that we have failed to accommodate his left-handedness. He argued that all our desks are constructed for right-handed people. To accommodate his left-handedness, he is requesting an expensive new piece of office furniture. Do we have to accommodate him?

Romance policies that work–even with ‘irresistible’ employees

02/20/2013
Workplace romance has long been the bane of the HR profession. A December 2012 Iowa Supreme Court decision in Nelson v. Knight has further roiled the workplace romance waters by holding that an employer could terminate an employee for being “irresistible.”

U of M gay bias lawsuit turns on cellphone, text records

02/20/2013
Ongoing employment discrimination litigation between the University of Minnesota and a former golf coach is now focused on a cellphone. Former women’s associate golf instructor Kathryn Brenny sued the university, claiming that golf director John Harris stripped her of her duties once he discovered she is a lesbian.

Yes, you can fire for working off the clock

02/20/2013

Some employees refuse to follow rules prohibiting off-the-clock work. Some—insisting they can’t complete their work any other way—may clock out and then return to work. That puts employers at risk for wage-and-hour lawsuits. You don’t have to put up with it.