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Employment Law

Discrimination claims by Muslims rise to all-time high

10/26/2010
The number of discrimination claims filed with the EEOC by Muslims has more than doubled in the past five years, rising to a high of 1,490 last year. Surprisingly, that’s more claims than in the year following the 9/11 attacks.

Steamed at Maxwell House, employee wins reinstatement

10/25/2010

Francena Smith will return to her former job at Kraft Foods’ Maxwell House division in Jacksonville following an arbitrator’s decision. Smith filed an EEOC gender discrimination claim alleging she was disciplined more harshly than several male workers who were also involved in incidents at the plant that caused contamination of the coffee.

Document all efforts to investigate complaints

10/25/2010
One of the best ways to show you took a harassment or discrimination complaint seriously is to come up with figures quantifying your efforts to resolve it. A critical step: logging the number of hours you spent investigating claims, along with a detailed account of all the other steps you took.

Sudden discipline problems? Check for retaliation by boss

10/25/2010

Some supervisors get angry when an employee complains about alleged discrimination. Then they may look for an excuse to discipline the employee. Watch for such sudden complaints of “poor performance.” If the worker was formerly a good employee and now suddenly is not, you may be staring down a sudden outbreak of retaliation.

Praising off-the-clock work? Plan to pay for it

10/22/2010

Every manager loves an employee who gives extra effort—the type who will come in early or stay late to finish a project. But, as this new case shows, managers should be careful about praising hourly employees for their off-the-clock efforts. Workers can use those comments in an overtime-pay lawsuit as proof that the company not only knew of the extra hours, but also condoned them.

Does the FMLA cover leave for cosmetic surgery?

10/21/2010
Employees can take job-protected FMLA leave for “serious health conditions.” But take note: Cosmetic surgery only counts as a serious condition in very rare cases …

Employees blog, tweet about products? Beware new risk

10/19/2010
If you have employees preaching about your products or services via blogs, Twitter or other social networking sites, beware a hidden risk. The FTC has issued new Enforcement Guidelines that require employees to disclose their relationships with their employer whenever they post comments or positive reviews about their employer’s product on a social media site.

OSHA gives Texas company 1.2 million reasons to record employee injuries, illnesses

10/18/2010
If you shrug off your injury record-keeping duties, consider this recent case study: OSHA last month cited a Houston manufacturer with 83 willful violations for “hiding” work-related injuries and illnesses at the company. The proposed fines: $1.2 million.

Voters to decide: Will sheriff have to get out of Dodge?

10/15/2010
A supposedly confidential sexual harassment complaint has become an election issue in the Dodge County sheriff’s race. An employee in the sheriff’s office claims she was sexually harassed by current Sheriff Jim Trihey.

Don’t tell employee she can take FMLA leave until you have checked her eligibility

10/15/2010

Under limited circumstances, employees who aren’t actually eligible for FMLA leave may become eligible if their employers tell them they are. That’s why you should tell employees that you won’t have a definitive answer about whether they can take FMLA leave until you have checked on their eligibility.