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Employment Law

EFCA is dead, but ‘new’ NLRB could be trouble

08/09/2010
“The big bang theory of labor law reform is behind us,” says employment law attorney Michael Lotito. Meaning: In its current form, the controversial Employee Free Choice Act won’t pass. But it’s not all good news. The five-member NLRB “has changed dramatically” with the addition of three new members named by President Obama.

Reasonable accommodations under the ADA in the 7th Circuit

08/06/2010

The ADA requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with a disability, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. A recent 7th Circuit case sheds light on the extent of an employer’s obligation to accommodate an employee’s accommodation request.

Must we pay workers who have been suspended?

08/06/2010
Q. We recently sent an employee home for not following his supervisor’s instructions. Do we have an obligation to pay him for the full day regardless? How should we handle this situation in the future? Is this considered administrative leave?

Does the Florida Workers’ Comp Law require pre-suit notice in retaliation cases?

08/06/2010
Q. We are a private company that provides services under contract to a subdivision of the state. Normally, before any tort lawsuit has been filed against us related to our services to the state agency, we have received a pre-suit notice as required under Section 768.25, Florida Statutes, to trigger a waiver of sovereign immunity. A former employee has brought a lawsuit against us, alleging that his discharge was unlawful workers’ compensation retaliation under Section 440.205, Florida Statutes. However, he never sent us a pre-suit notice for this statutory tort. Can we get the case thrown out?

Now that the ADAAA has been enacted, can former employee apply it retroactively?

08/06/2010
Q. One of our security employees uses a hearing aid. He could not pass the unaided hearing requirements of his job. As a result, we let him go. His layoff occurred in 2007, when he first brought a claim for an alleged violation of the ADA. He claims that with the subsequent adoption of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), an employer is not allowed to consider mitigating measures in determining whether an employee has a disability. Can the ADAAA be retroactively applied so he is deemed to have a disability under the ADA?

Supreme Court expands time to sue over policies with disparate impact

08/06/2010
There may be a ticking time bomb lurking in your employment policies and practices. It may go off at any time, when you least expect it. During its most recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers can be held liable upon the use of employment practices that have a disparate impact on employees, no matter how long ago the challenged practice was adopted.

VA medical center police sue for alleged retaliation

08/06/2010
Bay Pines Medical Center, a Department of Veterans Affairs facility in St. Petersburg, has been sued by police officers who allege they were retaliated against when they came forward with discrimination charges.

EEOC asks: Is Hernando County a hotbed of age discrimination?

08/06/2010
A former Hernando County public works director has filed an EEOC complaint alleging that his discharge in January was part of a county plan to get rid of older, highly paid employees. Charles Mixson, who is 61 years old, claims that the county wants to terminate all managers over age 55.

Tell bosses: Accommodation backlash can be retaliation

08/06/2010
One of the most common mistakes employers make is allowing bosses to subtly retaliate. Take, for example, an employee who asks for a religious accommodation. If the request is approved, it may cause scheduling difficulties. Some supervisors may be tempted to get back at the employee for the hassle the accommodations are causing. Don’t let them.

Not all action after complaint is retaliation

08/06/2010
Employees are protected from retaliation for complaining about alleged discrimination. That doesn’t mean, however, that everything negative that happens after a complaint is filed is grounds for a retaliation lawsuit.