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A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights that you can’t threaten an employee with discipline, demotion, or discharge for exercising their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the right to an accommodation. Employee Taken Off “On-Call” Duty Brenda Brown was a Tucson, Ariz., police detective in the neighborhood crimes unit. When […]
Most employers know the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects an employee’s right to participate in union activities. But the law is actually much broader than that. It also covers workers—union and nonunion—who join together to protest or seek changes in the terms and conditions of their employment. Retaliation against an employee for engaging in […]
In earlier articles we reported on two new U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action decisions with implications for workplace diversity programs. Cultivating and maintaining a diverse workforce is a complex and ongoing process, and it’s not always easy to know how to proceed. This two-part series will address why organizations adopt diversity programs, ways to get […]
One of your employees has been copying pornographic images off the Internet and showing them to coworkers. Another has been distributing racist jokes through company e-mail. And others have downloaded some hot new software onto their office PCs, violating federal copyright laws. It’s bad enough these employees are surfing the Net instead of working. But […]
It’s important to understand the warning signs that a worker might be headed for violent behavior. Here’s a list of stress factors, cues, and signals that many psychologists believe may indicate potential for violent behavior in the workplace. Of course, just how significant any of these factors may be will depend on your situation:
The Treasury Department and the IRS have announced that certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can be reimbursed through employers’ flexible spending accounts (FSAs). This means that reimbursements by FSAs and other employer health plans allow employees to make their purchases with pretax dollars.
Paula Green, who was hired by the Ontario office of Par Pools as a swimming pool construction superintendent, complained that her $400-per-week salary was lower than the salaries paid to male construction superintendents with jobs identical to hers. She sued Par Pools under the California equal pay law. But a California Court of Appeal dismissed […]
A federal jury in San Jose has sided with Sunnyvale chip maker Advanced Micro Devices on allegations that executive Walid Maghribi was forced to quit shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, after AMD chairman Jerry Sanders learned Maghribi was a Lebanese Muslim. Maghribi charged the company made his job intolerable because of […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a $3.1 million verdict, including a $2.6 million punitive damage award, for an executive who claimed he was discriminated against and fired because of his Chinese nationality and ethnicity. Wei Zhang, who before coming to the United States was a business and economics professor in China, was […]
More large companies are implementing gay- and lesbian-friendly policies in the workplace, according to a report just released by the Human Rights Campaign. This year, 21 companies, in contrast to 11 last year, received a perfect score on the campaign’s “Corporate Equity Index,” which measures how certain Fortune 500 or Forbes 200 companies treat employees […]