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Employment Law

Knocked down, BP pitcher throws Phillies a legal curve

12/03/2012
When the 2011 baseball season ended, Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro fired Ali Modami, the team’s batting practice pitcher. Now Modami has filed a $100,000 defamation suit against Amaro and the team.

Ask EEOC to keep employee info confidential

12/03/2012

If you ever have to face off against the EEOC in court, watch out! The commission has great discretion to expand a case that may have begun with just one employee. In doing so, it may demand a long list of information about your employees, past and present. Before turning over employee information to the EEOC, ask the court to order confidentiality.

Curb harassment with policy, prompt action

12/03/2012

You can’t control everything that happens in the workplace. Despite your best efforts, a supervisor might still harass your employees. That doesn’t mean you’re defenseless. A good sexual harassment policy, thorough training for everyone and prompt action can save the day.

Workplace romance gone bad? Don’t hesitate to terminate if you perceive danger

12/01/2012
Not every romance ends happily ever after with a storybook wedding. But with the passage of time, most breakups don’t leave a lingering mess. That’s not necessarily true of workplace romances gone sour, where the former love birds may remain in regular contact with each other.

Go ahead and trim the tree–while keeping your party liability-free

12/01/2012

The holiday spirit is spreading! A new survey shows that more than 83% of employers are planning year-end holiday parties this year, up from 68% in 2011. But for us worrywarts in HR, all that good cheer means more fretting about alcohol-fueled liability. Here are 12 tips for making spirits bright without having to call a lawyer — plus a rundown of the 10 worst workplace party fouls.

Motel cleaned up at housekeepers’ expense

11/30/2012
Veer Investments—which ­operates an America’s Best Value Inn & Suites motel in Charlotte—careened wildly off course when it decided to ignore almost all the basic requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Overtime settlement puts dent in body shop’s profit

11/30/2012
Jacksonville-based Brynn Marr Body Shop has agreed to settle overtime complaints filed by 15 employees, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Winston-Salem DQ not so sweet to teenage worker

11/30/2012
YS & J Enterprises Inc., operator of the Dairy Queen at the Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, will pay $17,500 to a former employee who was fired after she complained about sexual harassment by a male co-worker.

DOJ files USERRA complaint against Warren County schools

11/30/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit against the Warren County Board of Education, claiming it ­violated the USERRA when it refused to reinstate an assistant principal, a 20-year veteran of the Army Reserve who had been called to active-duty service in Kuwait and Afghanistan.

Request accommodations info after FMLA leave expires

11/30/2012
Employees who run out of FMLA leave may still be eligible for additional time off under the ADA if their condition qualifies as a disability.