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Employment Law

Whistle-blowing AirTran pilot wins reinstatement, $1 million

02/13/2012
OSHA has ordered Orlando-based AirTran to pay $1 million in damages after it found the airline retaliated against a pilot reporting safety problems.

Second race charge rises for Panera

02/13/2012
A company that operates Panera Bread stores in Florida faces an additional lawsuit charging racial discrimination in the wake of a manager’s suit that claims he was fired for refusing to follow a racist directive from the store’s owner.

Courts: Don’t make us second-guess your decisions

02/13/2012
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has made it clear that it isn’t interested in interfering unnecessarily with management decisions … The lesson here is that as long as you have a rational reason for discharging an employee, chances are your decision won’t be questioned.

Post promotion opportunities to avoid needless litigation

02/13/2012
Here’s a good way to cut your litigation risk: Make sure you post all promotion opportunities along with the minimum job requirements. That way, employees can’t sue over lost opportunities for which they failed to apply.

Timing is everything when it comes to workplace romances gone bad and terminations

02/13/2012

When you terminate an emp­loyee for a good, obvious and well-documented reason, you seldom have to worry about a surprise harassment complaint. Former employees file them fairly frequently, but courts tend to view them with suspicion. The obvious question: Why didn’t the employee complain about harassment before?

Bullet-proof your promotion process: Tell everyone to forward notes and documents to HR

02/13/2012
When it comes to promotions, courts want employers to be honest and fair. Otherwise, they won’t interfere—unless the employer has no records to back up its promotion decisions or show how its decision-making process worked.

Court rules on early FMLA protection: Never fire for requesting leave in advance

02/13/2012
The 11th Circuit has ruled for the first time on an important FMLA question, providing greater protection for employees who are not yet eligible for FMLA leave but who request leave that will start once they become eligible.

Don’t take malingering employee’s bait: Calling in sick shouldn’t trigger FMLA query

02/13/2012

Some employees believe all they have to do to invoke FMLA leave protection is call in sick and wait for their employer to request medical certification. Wrong! Merely calling in sick doesn’t trigger any employer obligations under the FMLA.

Excessive bathroom use: a real disability?

02/13/2012
Q. We have a couple of employees who get tardies for being late and their excuses have been that they’re in the bathroom due to a disability. So I follow them to the bathroom because I know they are lying. Am I breaking the law by following them? Is this considered harassment? It’s getting out of hand.

FLSA would cover home health care workers

02/10/2012
Under proposed regulations, staffing agencies that send health care workers into clients’ homes would be fully covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In-home health care workers who are employed by families would retain their FLSA exemption.