Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The off-week hours of rotational workers may count against FMLA leave, a federal judge reluctantly decided in a recent U.S. District Court ruling. The Oklahoma judge ruled for a trucking firm in an FMLA interference claim by a fired dispatcher who failed to return to work after he exhausted his 12 weeks of job-protected FMLA […]
A federal disability policy agency sent a report and letter to the Obama administration on Aug. 23 urging a phase out of a controversial provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows certified employers to compensate persons with disabilities at wages below the federal minimum wage. The FLSA section in question — section 14(c) […]
Ignorance regarding recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act is no excuse for noncompliance; employers “should get up to speed” on these changes, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in announcing a settlement agreement this week. The agency added that the ADA amendments make it clear that employers should not overanalyze whether an […]
“Best Practices” means “what most experienced large multinationals have been doing”—that doesn’t mean those practices best for your organization. You have to decide that for yourself, says Fisher, principal at Chicago-based consultant Laurus Strategies. Fisher was joined by colleague Patrick Gallagher for his presentation at SHRM’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, held recently in Atlanta, Georgia. […]
As an employer, you might think that there’s a clear difference between taking part in casual conversations with your employees versus receiving notice of an impending FMLA leave. After all, dropping hints in the lunchroom about ailing parents, sick kids or personal health issues doesn’t qualify these days as giving official leave notification, does it? […]
A recent decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the importance of tracking employees’ hours. That court reversed a district court’s judgment against a New York high school English teacher who claims he was denied tenure in retaliation for taking seven days of leave following gallbladder surgery — FMLA leave for which […]
A school district failed to accommodate a teacher with seasonal affective disorder, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined, upholding a jury’s award of damages. The 7th Circuit had already heard the case, Ekstrand v. School District of Somerset (No. 11-1949, June 26, 2012), once before. Renae Eskstrand filed suit against her employer, […]
To bring a discrimination claim, a trainee with a disability needs only show that she was qualified to participate in the job training; she doesn’t need to prove that she was qualified for prospective job, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals ruled Aug. 8. The case, Rosebrough v. Buckeye Valley High School, involved Tammy […]
When conducting privacy training on electronic monitoring, share the following case study with your employees: In this case, Janice Collins complains to her supervisor Bill Smith that one of her male co-workers, Jerry Bartolli, is viewing pornographic websites on the job. Furthermore, Collins says that Bartolli has been sending sexually explicit e-mails to several female […]
The United States should expect substantial changes to its disability employment statistics in the near future, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, announced on July 26, the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. “I believe our country is on the verge of major progress on the issue of disability employment,” he wrote in a letter […]