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HR Management

The new legal risk of overworking bilingual employees

03/01/2005
Issue: Overburdening employees because of their language abilities.
Risk: Relying too heavily on bilingual employees could spark a national-origin bias lawsuit.
Action: Remind supervisors to be on guard against …

Do your managers know an FMLA request when they see one?

03/01/2005
When employees request leave, especially for unforeseen circumstances, they don’t need to assert their FMLA rights explicitly by saying, “I need FMLA leave.” In fact, they don’t need to mention FMLA …

Age-bias law covers apprenticeships.

03/01/2005
Several applicants over age 40 complained to the EEOC about age bias after they were turned down for admission to a maritime training apprenticeship program. The EEOC sued the program and …

More reason to crack down on disability-related jokes and teasing

03/01/2005
When training supervisors, stress that they must work harder to prevent workplace intolerance toward employees with physical or mental impairments.
Reason: More courts are allowing employees to use
the …

Improve job reviews: Avoid these 4 deadly sins

03/01/2005
Managers may dread performance re-views, but employees are more receptive to them than you think. In fact, 77 percent of employees polled by staffing firm OfficeTeam said they consider performance reviews …

Alert managers: No ‘magic words’ needed to request FMLA

03/01/2005
Issue: Some supervisors think about FMLA only if an employee explicitly says “I need FMLA leave.”
Risk: In reality, employees don’t need to use the term “FMLA.” Failing to recognize …

Get the answers you need from ‘buck-passers’

03/01/2005
Issue: You often need people to act or decide quickly, even if they don’t report to you.
Risk: When people avoid making decisions, it can slow you down and reflect …

Small changes to returning worker’s job are OK

02/01/2005
When employees return to work after taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you must restore either their original job or an equivalent job with the same pay, …

New rules make 401(k) plans easier to administer

02/01/2005
Your organization’s 401(k) plan should be a bit less complicated to administer in the coming years, thanks to new Treasury Department regulations.
The new rules, the first major revision of …

ADA: How far must you go to ‘reasonably’ accommodate?

02/01/2005
THE LAW. The Americans with Dis-abilities Act (ADA) says employers can’t discriminate against employees who have physical or mental disabilities, and you must help them perform the critical functions of …