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Employment Law

Ohio EEOC claims fell in 2011

06/04/2012
Ohio employees filed 313 fewer EEOC discrimination charges last year than in 2010, according to data the commission just released.

Offering disability benefits isn’t admitting disability

06/04/2012
Offering disability benefits to an employee doesn’t prevent an em­­ployer from later contending that the employee is not actually disabled.

Think employee is committing leave fraud? Feel free to discipline–and document why

06/04/2012
If you suspect an employee is abusing your generous sick and disability leave benefits, consider cracking down on fraud. As long as you can document that you made a good-faith decision to punish leave abuse, a court won’t second-guess your actions.

Reclassification bid doesn’t equal promotion request

06/04/2012
Asking to have a position re­­classified at a higher pay grade isn’t the same as requesting a promotion. If the request is turned down, the employee can’t sue for a denied promotion.

Angry employee announces, ‘I quit!’? Tell him you accept his resignation

06/04/2012

Adjusting to a new supervisor can be hard, especially if work assignments are changing at the same time. It can start to feel like a conspiracy to some employees. If sufficiently frustrated, the employee may quit in a huff. Sometimes, your best bet is to accept that resignation.

Commuting help isn’t reasonable accommodation

06/04/2012
Employers are supposed to provide reasonable accommodations that remove barriers to working for disabled workers. But those accommodations don’t have to include implementing changes that make a disabled employee’s commute easier.

Intermittent FMLA leave is a pain, but don’t deny it for that reason

06/04/2012

Approving, certifying and tracking intermittent FMLA leave can be a royal pain, especially in industries where attendance is crucial. But employees who are otherwise eligible for intermittent FMLA leave can’t be denied that right simply because it’s inconvenient for employers.

Employees fighting? Sort out facts, punish accordingly

06/01/2012
Having rules against fighting doesn’t necessarily make it easy to punish employees when punches fly. The best approach: Figure out who did what to whom, and in what order.

When employees are bilingual, it’s OK to require use of English in the workplace

05/31/2012

Employers can typically require em­­ployees to speak English when interacting with customers and clients, as long as the employer enforces the rule across the board. What you can’t do: Allow some employees to use one foreign language but punish others for using a third language.

Back ‘gut’ decisions with objective criteria

05/30/2012

Most managers want to choose the best candidate for the job. But assessing what constitutes “best” can often feel a bit subjective. That’s OK. Just make sure you can point to some objective factor that backs up your choice.