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Employment Law

Ensure post-offer tests are job-related and necessary

09/23/2021
Making a job offer is a de facto acknowledgement that you believe the applicant was qualified for the position. If you make the offer contingent on passing some sort of pre-employment test, make sure the test is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Otherwise, you are courting lawsuits that likely favor applicants who fail the test.

Insist on HR approval before revoking offer

09/23/2021
As an HR professional, your role is to help your organization run well while staying out of legal trouble. Doing that means guiding hiring and firing decisions so they don’t inadvertently trigger a lawsuit. Train all your supervisors to seek your input before acting on any hiring or firing decision.

Beware associational bias arising from covid

09/16/2021
Associational discrimination is discrimination against an employee or applicant because of their association with a member of a protected class to which the employee does not belong. The consequences of covid-19 infections raise the possibility of new forms of associational discrimination and retaliation.

Spot difference between disabled and difficult

09/16/2021
Some employees are harder to manage than others. They fail to follow directions, complain about assigned tasks and gripe about general working conditions. But sometimes disabled employees do all those things, too. Make sure you know the difference.

Cuomo case offers key lessons for employers

09/16/2021
The New York attorney general’s report on sexual harassment allegations that led to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation offers plenty of good insights for employers on anti-harassment training and communication.

Lack of leadership hinders employers’ DEI initiatives

09/14/2021
While some employers have successfully implemented measures to increase diversity, equity and inclusion within their workforces, new data from the Society for Human Resource Management found that many others have failed to follow through on their DEI commitments.

NLRB spells out relief for victims of unfair labor practices

09/14/2021
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has directed NLRB regional officials to ensure workers and unions harmed by violations of the National Labor Relations Act “are made whole for losses they have suffered.”

Warn bosses about bias against addiction disability

09/09/2021
Refusing to hire someone because of the nature of their disability violates the ADA. That includes making harsh judgments about applicants who may have a disability related to addiction. It doesn’t matter whether the disability was triggered by the individual’s arguably poor choices.

Small employer? FLSA probably still applies

09/09/2021
Most private-sector employers must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage-and-hour rules, regardless of size. The law applies to employers that do a reasonable amount of business while engaged in interstate commerce.

DOL could use EEO-1 data against employers

09/09/2021
A recent policy change by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs could open the door for more federal scrutiny of employers’ employment practices.