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Employment Law

The HR I.Q. Test: July ’11

07/05/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz.

Make sure your harassment ‘cure’ doesn’t make the condition worse

07/04/2011

Employers have an obligation to stop illegal harassment as quickly as possible. But don’t jump right on the first apparent solution—it may not be the best way to go. If your proposed fix actually makes things worse for the victim—in terms of pay, perks or working conditions—you’ll raise your liability risks to the roof.

What’s in a name? Maybe discrimination

07/01/2011
Résumés with common names are more likely to receive callbacks than those with Russian and African-American names, according to a study in the Journal of Managerial Psychology. Evaluating candidates based on name could trigger claims of race bias or national-origin discrimination.

How to manage ‘job creep’ in today’s jobless recovery

06/30/2011
More than half of all employees have taken on new roles during the eco­nomic downturn, according to a recent Spherion Staffing survey. That’s “job creep,” and it’s a big problem. Job creep has important employment law implications and it also means many of your job ­descriptions are probably outdated.

The EEOC, maximum leave policies and the new ADA amendments

06/30/2011
The EEOC is getting serious about helping disabled Americans. In early June, the agency held a public meeting on the use of leave as a reasonable accommodation. That move came just two weeks after the agency put its new ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) regulations into effect.

Feds issue new tip-credit pooling rules

06/30/2011

Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled. The ruling comes as part of a new regulation clarifying the tip-pooling issue and establishing notice requirements for employers that use a tip credit for tipped employees.

Lorain steel company faces $563,000 in OSHA penalties

06/30/2011

Steel manufacturer Republic Engineered Products must answer to OSHA for seven allegedly willful violations and three alleged repeat safety violations at its Lorain plant. OSHA has proposed penalties total­ing $563,000.

Court lets employer ask EEOC about credit checks

06/30/2011
In an unusual twist, a federal trial court considering an Ohio case has permitted an employer being sued by the EEOC to ask pointed questions about the EEOC’s own hiring practices.

Court: Lawsuit over anti-gay harassment won’t fly because Title VII doesn’t cover it

06/30/2011
An employee who claimed a hostile work environment after co-workers harassed him for being gay has lost his lawsuit because Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not include anti-gay harassment as a legal cause of action.

OK to fire worker who has taken FMLA leave–but you had better be prepared to explain why

06/30/2011
Courts are suspicious when em­ployees who have recently returned from FMLA leave are suddenly fired. Yet, chances are you will at some point have to terminate an employee following FMLA leave. Just make sure you can explain why, backed up by solid and contemporaneous documentation.