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

Employment Law

Aggressively investigate harassment claims

08/06/2010

Employees who believe they have been sexually harassed may initially make only vague complaints about conduct that makes them uncomfortable. Then HR professionals have to decide what course to take. Should you launch a full-scale investigation? Or should you take the complaint at face value and ignore it?

In tight times, be prepared to handle whistle-blower complaints

08/05/2010
The sour economy has every company looking for ways to pinch pennies. If belt-tightening turns into illegality, employers can expect employees to alert the authorities. Virtually every law governing the workplace has a whistle-blower provision.

Appeals Court limits reach of N.Y. human rights laws

08/05/2010

In a victory for employers, the New York Court of Appeals has limited the reach of both the New York state and New York City human rights laws. The issue arose when Manhattan-based Parade magazine terminated Howard Hoffman, who claimed he was fired because of his age.

New York among states eyeing worker misclassification issues

08/05/2010

While Congress ponders the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, several states are studying ways to target employers that misclassify their employees as independent contractors. New York is part of a joint task force studying the misclassification problem.

When tracking FMLA abuse, use surveillance cautiously

08/05/2010
Before you decide to videotape someone whom you suspect may be abusing FMLA leave, make sure you have a good-faith reason to do so. And be prepared to show that surveillance is a common practice for similar suspicions.

Disruptive employee really deserves firing? Don’t let FMLA keep you from pulling the trigger

08/05/2010

Some employees are difficult, always skating on thin ice. They’re disruptive, don’t listen to directions and pretty much do whatever they want. Even so, employers often hesitate to fire such troublemakers if they’ve recently requested FMLA leave or claimed to be disabled. Don’t be manipulated into keeping those bad apples.

Workplace bullying may soon be illegal in New York

08/05/2010
Abusive managers may be workplace monsters, but their behavior generally hasn’t subjected employers to liability if no particular protected class was the target of the abuse. That may be about to change in New York.

Boss’s affair isn’t grounds for employee suit

08/05/2010

It’s a misconception that anytime a supervisor has a romantic relationship with an employee, other employees can sue for sex discrimination. If that were the case, employers could be held liable for any number of legitimate (or unsavory) relationships between employees or even with outsiders.

Consistency the key to good hiring practices

08/05/2010

Courts don’t like to meddle in hiring decisions unless they see something obviously wrong with the hiring process. The key is to treat all qualified applicants alike—and then document that you did so. For example, hiring managers should ask the same questions of everyone they interview and use the same scale to rate each applicant.

We overpaid employees: Can we ask for it back?

08/04/2010
Q. We recently switched to a new payroll company. They made a mistake when they set up our overtime calculations. Our employees who work the swing shift are given an extra 25 cents for regular hours and 37 cents for overtime hours. But we accidentally paid them 57 cents extra per hour instead. Can we require the employees to repay the extra amount?