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News Notes: ADA Doesn’t Require Transfer To New Boss To Reduce Stress

A new court decision says the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t require you to transfer an employee because of a bad working relationship with a supervisor. Sherrylen Weiler, a Household Finance Corp. manager, claimed she became disabled by depression, stress and anxiety following a performance review in which her supervisor raised his voice and […]

News Notes: Revised Ergonomics Regulations Pass

On April 17, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to adopt rewritten and clarified workplace ergonomics regulations aimed at reducing repetitive motion injuries. The regulations probably won’t take effect before early July-assuming threatened lawsuits from employer and labor groups don’t cause further delays. We’ll have a full report in an upcoming issue. […]

News Notes: Positive Workplace Drug Tests Drop To 10-Year Low

The most recent drug testing survey published by SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories indicates the number of workers who test positive for drug use is at an all-time low. Only 5.8% of more than 4 million workplace drug tests the company performed in 1996 were positive, a 13% decline from 1995. Of special interest to California […]

News Notes: Mervyn’s Sued For $111 Million For Unpaid Overtime

Employees who work at Mervyn’s Department Store have filed two lawsuits accusing the retail chain of coercing them into working up to 80 hours a week without overtime. One lawsuit, filed on behalf of 1,300 hourly “team coordinators,” claims they were forced to work “off the clock” through lunch and breaks and were not paid […]

Avoiding Defamation Suits: Use Caution When Discussing Ex-Employee Turned Competitor-A 4-Point Checklist

  Have you ever fired an employee and then worried that he would join a competitor and “bad mouth” your organization to important customers or vendors? One employer in that situation went a little too far in trying to control the damage to its reputation-and found itself ordered to pay the former employee $1 million […]

Wage and Hour: Not Paying for “Off-The-Clock” Work Lands Employers In Hot Water; When You Do-And Don’t-Have To Pay

It’s obvious you have to pay employees for all the hours they spend doing their job. But violations of this rule by employers are common, and they can be very expensive. A few years back, for example, Nordstrom had to set aside millions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit charging numerous “off-the-clock” violations. […]

Hostile Environment: How Mishandling A Harassment Complaint Cost One Employer $894,000

  In April, we reported how a savvy employer successfully defended itself against a wrongful termination claim by conducting a thorough investigation and review of the facts before making the decision to terminate. This month, we look at a case in which an employer had ample opportunities to protect an employee from harassment but didn’t-because […]

Pension Plans: Billion Dollar Surplus Nightmare For Employer; How To Stay Legal

  If you have a defined benefit pension plan for your employees, thanks to stock market gains it may contain more money than you’ll need to pay out in benefits. But be careful before you use this “extra” money. One employer recently found there are strict rules about what you can and can’t do with […]

Disability Discrimination: Court Says Look For Alternative Jobs, Even If Workers Don’t Ask; How To Avoid Accommodation Traps

Your obligation to accommodate disabled workers may be much broader than you think. According to a new California Court of Appeal ruling, if one of your employees becomes disabled and can’t perform their job, you must suggest possible reasonable accommodations-even if the employee doesn’t ask for your assistance. What’s more, you might be required to […]