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Employment Law

Requesting light duty isn’t an official FMLA request

07/26/2011
The FMLA grants time off for em­­ployees with serious health conditions, but they must let employers know they need leave. Simply requesting light-duty work isn’t enough.

Supreme Court sides with Walmart in massive class-action case

07/26/2011
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court in June rejected class-action status for an estimated 1.5 million female employees who brought gender-discrimination claims against Walmart, the country’s largest private employer. The issue before the High Court wasn’t whether Walmart discriminates against women, but whether the 1.5 million-member class was legitimate.

FLSA beef stirs up lawsuit against Panda Express

07/26/2011
The Chinese fast-food chain Panda Express faces a national overtime lawsuit after a federal district court judge in New York ruled the case could move forward as a class action.

OSHA cites Troy Chemical after Newark accident

07/26/2011
OSHA has issued 11 serious safety citations to Troy Chemical Corp. arising from a chemical spill at the company’s Newark facility. OSHA fines will amount to $62,100.

EEOC finds fault with ‘no-fault’ attendance policies

07/26/2011
Telecommunications giant Verizon has agreed to settle a nationwide class-action lawsuit brought by its disabled employees. In all, the company will pay out about $20 million to employees who missed work for reasons related to their disabilities. The lawsuit, filed by the EEOC on behalf of disabled Verizon workers across the country, claims Verizon’s “no-fault” attendance policy violates the ADA.

Independent exam for safety’s sake doesn’t violate ADA

07/26/2011
Some employees believe that an em­­ployer can’t legally request a medical exam. They’re wrong.

Be prepared to explain your reasonable rationale for firing protected-class worker

07/26/2011

Hesitant to fire an employee because of his race, religion or other pro­­tected characteristic? Don’t be. Employers with legitimate reasons to discharge someone generally win cases. That’s true even if the firing might appear discriminatory—such as when the sole fired employee happens to belong to a protected class.

Put it in your handbook: Supervisors must never use demeaning language

07/26/2011

It’s not enough to have policies in place that let you win employee lawsuits. You need policies that ensure you don’t wind up in court in the first place. For example, simply having a rule that requires managers to avoid sexist, ageist or otherwise offensive words can prevent lawsuits based on perceived discrimination.

Hoboken settles case alleging white supremacist police boss

07/26/2011

Five Hispanic members of the Hoboken Police Department will split $2 million following settlement of a lawsuit that alleged a SWAT team lieutenant was an unabashed white supremacist who forced the officers to perform yard work at his house. The officers alleged that internal complaints weren’t investigated.

Act ASAP to end sexually hostile environment

07/26/2011

It doesn’t take much for a work environment to become hostile enough to prompt an employee’s sexual harassment lawsuit. And if many incidents occur over time—or even if a handful of offenses are severe enough—the employee may have a winning case. That’s why you must act fast upon the first reported incident to stop further problems.