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Employment Law

DOJ: Corpus Christi’s police tests biased against women

07/31/2012
Between 2005 and 2011, the Corpus Christi Police Department hired 113 male entry-level police officers—and just 12 women. The U.S. De­­part­­ment of Justice thinks it knows the reason for the disparity: a physical ability test that most men can pass but few women can.

Is it a slur, or a misinterpretation?

07/31/2012
No one tolerates the usual racial and ethnic slurs. But what about novel phrases that aren’t in the common lexicon? Can those be the basis for a racially hostile work environment claim?

Clarify internal rules for handling FMLA requests

07/31/2012
Make sure that whoever in your organization handles FMLA and other leave knows to contact HR as soon as a leave request comes in. Then make sure you send out the appropriate FMLA paperwork along with any other required documents.

State High Court nixes sky-high attorneys’ fees, says $450K for a $100K judgment is too much

07/31/2012
The Texas Supreme Court has dealt a blow to attorneys representing employees in Texas. While employers that lose a lawsuit are supposed to pay the employee’s attorneys’ fees, there are limits to how high those fees can go.

OK to lay off worker who took FMLA leave as long as that’s not a factor in the decision

07/31/2012
Once an employee has used up FMLA and other leave, requiring employees to show up and get their work done is a reasonable expectation. In the following case, the court reasoned that the employer could consider attendance when deciding personnel cuts, as long as it didn’t use FMLA leave as a factor.

Texas Supreme Court clarifies: It’s not age bias if new worker is older than the original

07/31/2012
The Texas Supreme Court has just made it much easier for employers to avoid age discrimination claims. In what the court calls a “true replacement case” under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, an older worker must show that she was replaced by a younger worker.

How not to treat a learning-disabled employee

07/31/2012
Here’s a cautionary tale for super­­visors who have a learning-disabled subordinate. Do all you can to accommodate the employee and don’t let co-workers—or anyone in the workplace—make fun of disability traits.

Aftermath of an affair: Beware harassment

07/31/2012
You can’t stop all romantic entanglements at work, but you can and should make sure the post-affair fallout doesn’t disrupt the workplace.

Manager mistakes: 3 key lessons from the courtroom

07/30/2012
It’s always smarter—and less expensive—to learn about employment law from others’ mistakes, rather than your own. Here are three new court decisions that serve up great lessons for any manager:

Lessons from the SHRM 2012 conference

07/27/2012
Here are some nuggets of employment law advice from the speakers at this summer’s Society for Human Resource Management annual conference in Atlanta.