• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Statewide anti-gay bias bill introduced in Legislature

03/04/2011
Texas state Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) has filed a bill that would prohibit Texas employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Tell bosses: Don’t play doctor with the FMLA

03/04/2011

When an employee asks for and is granted FMLA leave, absences that occur during the approved leave can’t be held against him. That includes days when he might be able to work but, according to doctors, shouldn’t do so. According to a Texas court, that means employers can’t retroactively assess absenteeism points during FMLA leave.

The HR I.Q. Test: March ’11

03/04/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

What’s wrong with this picture? You be the judge

03/03/2011
How many contemporary employment law violations can you spot in this 1860s ad for the Pony Express?

Dirty Dozen: 12 manager mistakes that spark lawsuits

03/03/2011
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

Unions in the spotlight: What employers can and can’t do

03/01/2011
The labor relations tug-of-war in Wisconsin—pitting state government against unionized public employees—could go either way. It might sound the death knell of organized labor. Or it could spur renewed organizing by labor unions in all employment sectors. If your workers suddenly expressed an interest in union representation, would you know how to react?

Can you refuse to hire candidates who are currently unemployed?

03/01/2011
You may have seen it in the classifieds: “Must be currently working.” Is that legal? Some state legislatures want to prohibit “unemployment discrimination.” And given the nature of post-recession America’s out-of-work population, there may be an even more compelling reason not to exclude the unemployed.

How to make the leap to electronic HR records

03/01/2011
Many employers are making the leap to “paperless” HR. Digital records are easy to access and cheap to archive. But despite the many benefits of electronic records storage, a host of legal problems could derail even the best-intentioned digital records plan. Here are the issues to consider before you make the transition.

Remind bosses: Reference check calls go to HR

03/01/2011
If your managers and supervisors respond to reference calls by offering negative information, a lawsuit is probably coming. One reason: A whole new industry has emerged to help former employees find out what their old bosses are saying about them. That makes it more important than ever to refer all reference check calls to HR.

High court opens door to ‘third party’ retaliation

03/01/2011
The U.S. Supreme Court last month widened the circle of people who can bring retaliation lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. As a result, HR and supervisors everywhere must be extra cautious about handing out discipline or terminations that could be construed as some sort of retaliation.