• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Hershey School HIV case highlights ADAAA’s reach

01/05/2012
The Milton Hershey School, founded by chocolate magnate Milton Hershey to help underprivileged children, faces discrimination charges after it refused to admit a 13-year-old boy who is HIV-positive.

NLRB pushes back pro-union poster requirement to April 30

01/05/2012
The National Labor Relations Board has postponed until April 30 the date when employers must display a new pro-union poster. The change came at the request of a Wash­­­­­ing­­ton, D.C., federal court hearing business groups’ legal challenge re­­garding the rule.

Muslim scarf ban costs $50K for Philadelphia security firm

01/05/2012
Philadelphia-based Imperial Security will pay $50,000 to settle EEOC charges it discriminated against a woman and fired her because of her religious attire.

Pittsburgh Panera manager: I was fired for refusing racism

01/05/2012
A former manager at a Pittsburgh-area Panera Bread shop is suing the chain, claiming he was fired in retaliation for refusing to implement his boss’s racist directive.

Vague statements won’t support harassment lawsuit

01/05/2012
Here’s some comfort if you discover a supervisor has made unwise comments to employees: Ambiguous statements probably aren’t enough to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim.

Worker turned down light-duty offer? That gives you an advantage in ADA lawsuit

01/05/2012
Here’s a situation you can use to your advantage if you offer light-duty work to an employee who claims he has become disabled: If he turns down your offer, that could sink any disability discrimination claim he later makes.

Partners in time: Balance FMLA and ADA when employee’s serious illness is a disability

01/05/2012
Employees with a serious health condition are entitled to take intermittent FMLA leave when their conditions flare up. And disabled employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. That can include time off. Employers must therefore consider granting intermittent FMLA leave among the possible ADA reasonable accommodations when an employee has a serious health condition that is also a disability.

Amtrak HR exec decides she won’t be railroaded

01/05/2012
Amtrak will give an HR executive working at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station a salary boost of almost $16,000 to bring her into parity with what the railroad pays men doing the same job. She will also receive a lump-sum payment of $171,000.

Unhappy employee? Carefully track complaints

01/05/2012

You know this employee—the one who’s never happy and always finds something to complain about. It may be tempting to ignore repeated complaints, but that’s probably a mistake. Carefully document all her gripes. Those records could come in handy later if she files a lawsuit.

Could high school diploma requirement violate the ADA?

01/05/2012

An “informal discussion letter” from the EEOC had employment-law circles buzzing last month—and creating uncertainty about employer’s use of high school diplomas as hiring criteria. The nonbinding EEOC letter said employers, in some instances, could infringe on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when requiring all applicants to have a high school diploma.