Tag: discrimination

Make Sure Your Payroll Practices Are Compliant

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that almost 70 percent of employers aren’t in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Lawyers who represent employees are well aware that most employers aren’t compliant, as evidenced by a significant increase in FLSA claims. In fact, wage and hour claims, including collective actions, have increased […]

Treat Holidays with Care to Avoid Religious Discrimination, Harassment

Happy holidays! But which holidays? Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid ul-Adha, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice? All of the above? None of the above? One of December’s chills, at least for HR professionals, can be a little shiver of trepidation over handling employees’ varying religious needs with sufficient sensitivity. Do you put up a tree? What kind of […]

Downsizing: Plan Ahead to Avoid Trouble

by Gary Fealk Downsizing can be an effective strategy for building a more efficient organization going forward. But it can also lead to legal liability and may not accomplish the desired cost savings unless an employer implements a carefully considered plan. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including […]

Is Breaking the Law Protected Activity by Employees When Filing an EEOC Charge?

Imagine this: One of your employees violates company policy and state law by disclosing confidential company records to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to buttress her discrimination charge. After learning about the activity, you fire the employee — who then sues you, claiming you retaliated against her for filing an EEOC charge. Does an […]

Five Changes to Look for from Obama and New Washington Leaders

by Mark Schickman The historic Democratic Party election sweep is apt to have a major effect on America’s employment and labor policy. The policies promulgated by the Obama White House will receive a favorable reception from both houses of Congress. Here are some of those policies. Free HR Hero White Paper: What’s Next? Seven Possible […]

Former National Guardsman Prevails on Reemployment Claims Against Employer

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides, at its core, reemployment rights for employees returning from military service and protection from employment discrimination following reemployment. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit clarified that a qualified service member’s reemployment rights can’t be delayed or otherwise limited […]

We’ve Come a Long Way (Except for Michael and Dwight)

Litigation Value: $50,000. In this week’s episode of The Office, Michael Scott is on camera calling Kelly Kapoor dusky and exotic, and then Dwight Schrute, the assistant to the regional manager, refers to her southern India birth before he threatens her. A jury somewhere will find against Dunder Mifflin for race discrimination. Of course, that […]

Avoiding Legal Pitfalls During RIFs and When Reducing Workers’ Hours

by John Vering On Oct. 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reported that over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 159,000 in September and thus far in 2008, payroll employment has […]

Association Discrimination: New Lawsuit Trend

We’ve all heard of employees having an advantage in corporate America because of “who they know.” Whether that’s true or not, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has noted that there is a trend of employees getting ahead in discrimination lawsuits because of “who they know.” Most of you know you can’t treat employees differently […]

Joking About Homosexuality at Work Is No Laughing Matter

The second week of the new TV season and no new episode. Seriously. Not cool. Since I already wrote about Sarah Palin a few weeks ago, I’m just going to use something I didn’t cover in last week’s episode. There was a funny part where Oscar played a joke on Holly about being offended with […]