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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor have announced plans to share information and resources in enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Among other things, staff in the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division will be trained to detect violations of equal pay laws and share their findings with the EEOC. The agencies tout the […]
You’ve probably put a lot of effort into implementing a well-defined and nondiscriminatory application process for hiring new employees. But many employers don’t always apply the same careful planning when it comes to promotion decisions-an oversight that can be costly. In one recent case, an African-American employee successfully sued her employer for damages after being […]
Late last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that only employers-not individual managers and supervisors-can be forced to pay damages for workplace discrimination claims arising out of routine employment decisions. But the ruling left the door open for lawsuits against individual managers for harassment or retaliation. Now, a new decision illustrates just how easily a […]
You fire an employee for breaking a company rule. This common event may not seem risky, but a recent verdict shows that how you handle a termination can often get you in more trouble than the firing itself. In fact, Wal-Mart is now facing a whopping $20 million verdict partly because of how it discharged […]
As thousands of reservists are being called to military action in the Balkans and taking leave from their jobs, it’s a good time to brush up on the intricacies of the federal law that protects the rights of workers who serve in the armed forces. And a new federal court decision upholds the special benefits […]
A trial judge has turned the tables on a lawyer who failed to convince a jury that the law firm in which she was a partner had refused to accommodate her pregnancy. Finding that Shari Cohen Rosenman’s lawsuit was unreasonable, the court ordered her to pay $231,000 toward the attorney’s fees and costs of the […]
A new survey of 400 mid- to large-sized employers by human resource consulting firm William M. Mercer and child care consultant Bright Horizons Family Solutions found that many employers are offering on-site child care as a recruiting and employee retention tool. Twelve percent of respondents had an on-site facility, 8% used a nearby center and […]
Rite Aid Corp. has been slapped with a class action lawsuit claiming that as many as 1,600 managers and assistant managers at approximately 800 drugstores in California were improperly classified as exempt from overtime. The employees charge that Rite Aid put pressure on managers to deny overtime to hourly clerks and, as a result, managers […]
Recent court rulings have emphasized the importance of having an easy and reliable procedure for reporting sexual harassment incidents. In fact, in many cases, the terms of your sexual harassment policy can make the difference between avoiding liability-or paying huge damages. But in an evolving aspect of the law, a surprising new federal appeals court […]
When changing retirement plans, employers sometimes don’t notify employees until all the details are in place. But a new case makes it clear that if you don’t let workers in on your plans earlier, you could face an expensive lawsuit. Employer Enhances Early Retirement Benefits In a workforce reduction, IBM offered workers two early retirement […]