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Employment Law

Include federal jury service protection in your employee handbook and policies

07/08/2010
Make sure your employee handbook covers federal jury service and that supervisors don’t punish employees who serve on federal juries. Employees who are called to serve on juries in federal courts are protected from discharge because of their service.

Courts more reluctant to extend employee deadlines for filing lawsuits

07/08/2010

You should be able to rest easy after an employee misses a deadline to file a lawsuit. In the past, courts have been lenient when it comes to those deadlines, especially if the employee doesn’t have an attorney. But now the tide seems to be turning. Courts are beginning to get stricter about deadlines.

Discovered hostile environment? Fix the problem, ensure there’s no repeat … and rest easy

07/08/2010

Sometimes despite your efforts to prevent it, a complaint leads to solid evidence that a female employee has endured severe sexual harassment at the hands of co-workers. What’s your next move? And will that move enable you to prevent a successful lawsuit? If you correct the problem and prevent any further similar harassment, your company will be in the clear after 300 days.

Long Island firefighters win benefits in age-bias settlement

07/08/2010
Long Island’s Bayville Fire Department will allow volunteer firefighters to accrue length-of-service credit past age 65 as part of an age discrimination settlement with the EEOC. The volunteers accrue service time and then receive bonuses based on that time. The payments essentially amount to a pension.

Don’t ask for unlimited medical exam consent

07/08/2010
Under the ADA, medical exams are allowed only if needed to determine whether an employee requires a reasonable accommodation or if the employer believes the employee will be unable to safely perform the job. But can employers require employees to agree to more extensive medical examinations as a condition of employment? Probably not.

Accommodation denied? Beware retaliation suit

07/08/2010

Employers sometimes forget that merely asking for a reasonable accommodation may be a protected activity. That’s true even if it turns out that the employee isn’t disabled and therefore isn’t due an accommodation. Anything an employer does that could be construed as punishment for requesting help could spell trouble—and a retaliation lawsuit.

Are we in trouble? We just demanded that one of our employees lose weight

07/08/2010
Q. I own a restaurant where we require the waitresses to wear revealing outfits. Recently, we placed an employee on a probationary period as a result of her having gained weight. We advised her that if she did not lose 10 pounds in 60 days, we would terminate her employment. Have we done anything illegal?

After poor-performing worker complains about e-mail, should we follow through on plans to fire?

07/08/2010
Q. Admittedly, this is an odd-ball question. My HR department just received a complaint from an employee about risqué e-mails that some of her co-workers were trading back and forth. Coincidentally, the employee who complained is also slotted for termination because of poor performance and attendance problems. Is there any risk in terminating this employee in light of her recent complaint?

Use social networks to your advantage in employment disputes

07/08/2010

I’ve long preached that employees should not enjoy an expectation of privacy in information they voluntarily place on the Internet, including social networks like Facebook. Now according to one federal court in Indiana, it is also fair game for employers to use social networking information when they have to defend against harassment and discrimination lawsuits.

OSHA inspector on the way! How to prepare, how to respond

07/08/2010
An unexpected visit from an OSHA inspector is often unwelcome—and unsettling, too. But if you’ve taken the time to prepare, it need not be traumatic. Planning ahead will smooth the inspection process—and put you in control of it. Plus, being prepared may make a good impression on the inspector, which could lead to being cited for fewer violations.