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Employment Law

When service member returns from active duty, reinstate to job that’s truly comparable to old one

10/06/2011

Under USERRA, employees called up to serve our country are entitled to prompt reinstatement. Your obligation is triggered when the returning service member tells you he is ready to return. It’s not enough to place the re­­turn­­ing worker in an entry-level position: Returning service members are entitled to reinstatement to the same position or one similar to the job they previously held.

Oyster Bay cracks, agrees to settle pension lawsuit

10/06/2011
The Oyster Bay Fire Department on Long Island has agreed to settle an EEOC class-action age discrimi­nation suit that alleges that older firefighters illegally lost out on pension benefits.

Document your consistently fair practices

10/06/2011

Much as you would like to, you can’t control every statement that comes out of supervisors’ mouths. Someday, someone somewhere within your organization will utter an ethnic comment or slur. That doesn’t have to become the basis for a successful lawsuit—as long as you have a track record of treating all employees fairly.

DOL to tighten child labor rules for farm workers

10/05/2011
Last month the DOL proposed changes to child labor regulations for agricultural workers. The proposal would bar employees under age 18 from working in certain jobs, including grain elevators, silos, feed lots and stockyards.

Is this worker entitled to FMLA leave? She was out for months on workers’ comp

10/04/2011
Q. One of our employees missed several months of work last year because of a workers’ compensation qualifying injury. She has now requested leave under the FMLA. Do we have to grant this request for leave?

Can bonuses affect overtime calculations?

10/04/2011
Q. We wish to offer a variety of incentive bonuses to hourly workers in an attempt to increase business and productivity. Will these bonuses affect the employees’ “regular rate” under the Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA for purposes of calculating overtime?

How can we protect against subsequent lawsuits following on-the-job injuries?

10/04/2011
Q. My company is a nonsubscriber under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act and has its own on-the-job employee injury benefit plan. Is there any way to increase the likelihood that employees who receive benefits under the plan will not be able to later sue us to recover damages related to their injuries?

Texas agency slapped with federal discrimination lawsuit

10/04/2011
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Texas Depart­­ment of Family and Protective Serv­­ices for race and gender discrimination, alleging that supervisors regularly harassed a black employee and later wrongly fired him.

3 new NLRB decisions keep recent pro-union streak alive

10/04/2011
The NLRB has issued three significant decisions that affect the relationship between unions, em­­ployers and employees. These include new rules for determining what is an appropriate bargaining unit and when employees can vote a union out as their representative. Together, they add to the NLRB’s recent record of ruling in favor of unions and against employers.

EEOC flips switch on harassment suit against Philips Lighting

10/04/2011
The EEOC is suing Philips Lighting, alleging that it allowed a woman who worked in its Dallas warehouse to endure severe sexual harassment.