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Employment Law

Tell bosses: Don’t nudge staff into retirement

11/24/2010

Remind supervisors to avoid comments that could be interpreted as pushing soon-to-retire workers out the door. If an older employee has to be terminated, a supervisor’s not-so-subtle hints at retirement will make it easier to persuade a court that age was the supervisor’s true reason for the firing.

OSHA plans ‘radical change’ to workplace noise standards

11/23/2010

With little fanfare, OSHA last month said it’s considering what employer groups are calling a “radical change” to employer obligations regarding workers’ exposure to occupational noise. “The announcement may have been quiet, but the impacts could be loud,” says a report by the Nixon Peabody law firm. “If adopted in their current form, the new obligations will be substantial and the potential cost to employers is likely to be immense.”

Federal employees lead pack in race to end distracted driving

11/23/2010

When OSHA launched Drive Safely Work Week in October, employees of the federal government were already in the driver’s seat. President Obama signed an executive order last year prohibiting federal employees from texting while driving. This fall, OSHA called on all employers to do the same for their employees.

Can deciding not to discipline lead to court?

11/22/2010

It happens: A supervisor wants to discipline an employee, but HR or upper management nixes the idea because it knows something the boss doesn’t. Perhaps the employee had suffered discrimination in the past and was placed in a new position for a fresh start. Be prepared for legal fallout if you wind up disciplining the supervisor.

Firing worker for Facebook rant: Is it illegal?

11/22/2010

In what could be a groundbreaking case, the National Labor Relations Board filed an unfair labor practice complaint last month against a Connecticut company that fired a worker who complained about her supervisor on Facebook. This is the first case in which the NLRB has argued that workers’ criticisms on social networking sites are protected activity.

Are use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies legal?

11/19/2010
Q. My company has a “use it or lose it” vacation policy. Is it lawful for employees who have not taken their vacations at the end of the calendar year to lose them if we have given our employees advance notice of our policy?

Can our harassment policy penalize false claims?

11/19/2010
Q. Can we implement a provision on our sexual harassment policy that imposes discipline on employees who bring false harassment claims?

Car washes accused of dirty dealings on worker pay, breaks

11/19/2010
The state Office of the Attorney General has filed a lawsuit charging eight Southern California car washes with stiffing workers out of wages, failing to pay the minimum wage, reneging on overtime pay and denying legally mandated breaks.

Cal/OSHA fires back at federal OSHA critique

11/19/2010
The federal OSHA says California’s occupational safety and health program is deficient. The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) disagrees—although officials admit there’s always room for improvement.

LAPD learns OT is expensive, retaliation costs way more

11/19/2010
A federal jury has awarded approximately $4 million to a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who claimed the LAPD fired him in retaliation for testifying in a wage-and-hour case.