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Employment Law

Are you ready for the EEOC’s enforcement crackdown?

05/11/2011
The EEOC received a record 99,922 charges in the 2010 fiscal year—the most the agency has received in its 45-year history. Given this sharp increase in charge activity, now is a good time to review your personnel policies and practices to make sure you’re taking appropriate steps to help prevent potential dis­crimination claims.

Minneapolis Convention Center faces discrimination charges

05/11/2011
Six former employees of the Min­ne­apolis Convention Center are suing, alleging the center discriminates based on age and race. Their lawsuit says minority and older workers were held to different standards than other employees.

MDHS, state retirees settle age bias complaint

05/11/2011
The Minnesota Department of Human Services has agreed to pay more than $467,000 to settle an age discrimination complaint filed by retired staffers.

Wind farm accident fans huge OSHA fines

05/11/2011
After an electrical worker suffered severe burns while working on an Illinois wind turbine, OSHA cited the Minnesota company that owns the facility for six willful safety violations.

Vague comments and complaints aren’t protected

05/11/2011
On occasion, an employee may be too embarrassed to directly confront sexual harassment. Instead, she may complain to a supervisor about unspecified problems. If the complaints are vague and wouldn’t cause a reasonable person to understand the issue of sexual harassment, the employee will have a hard time winning a lawsuit.

Court: Employees must give employers chance to fix errors

05/11/2011
Some employees think they can walk out on their jobs as soon as it looks like their employer is going to violate their rights. Then they sue, arguing constructive discharge. But courts expect employees to give their employers a chance to right wrongs.

It’s legit: Use differences in location and responsibilities to justify variable pay scales

05/11/2011

Here’s something to consider when setting pay rates for jobs in different locations and with slightly different responsibilities: Under the Equal Pay Act, employers can set different salaries based on geographically distinct job locations.

Harassment a problem in the past? That’s no excuse for not hiring women

05/11/2011

Some work environments are more prone to sexual harassment than others. That shouldn’t keep you from hiring women for positions in a largely male workplace. The answer is to educate em­ployees about harassment and then punish anyone who violates your anti-harassment policy.

Use tip credit for some pay? Beware requiring ‘substantial’ work that doesn’t generate tips

05/11/2011
Employers must be careful not to give tipped employees too many additional duties to complete before, during or after their tip-generating activities. If more than about 20% of their time is spent on such activities, you may have to pay them the full minimum wage for those hours, regardless of how much they earn in tips during the shift.

Black Jacksonville firefighters sue for race bias in testing

05/11/2011
A group of black firefighters are suing the city of Jacksonville and their union, alleging that white firefighters illegally had an opportunity to view promotional tests before they were administered.