Legal Issues

Ensure bosses accurately track employee hours

February 17, 2022
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to accurately track all the time employees work. In many organizations, the task falls to front-line managers and supervisors. That sometimes creates a conflict: Bosses under pressure to control labor costs may be tempted to require employees to work off the clock.

No, you cannot require at-will employees to stay

February 3, 2022
Employment at-will means employers and employees alike are free to end the employment relationship at any time for any reason, or even no reason at all. One employer recently got lost on that two-way street.

Train bosses: No gender stereotypes at work

February 3, 2022
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins that work rules based on stereotypes of how a woman should look and behave at work amounted to sex discrimination under Title VII. In 2020, the court expanded that protection to include stereotypes related to sexual orientation and transgender status.

Unionization: Avoid Amazon’s labor mistakes

February 3, 2022
Employers need to get up to speed now on how to respond to the threat of union organizing. Perhaps no organization provides better lessons on how not to respond than retail giant Amazon.

When is COVID considered an ADA-covered disability?

January 20, 2022
Q:  How does COVID-19 become a covered ADA disability?—Kenneth , New York

Supreme Court rejects large employer vax mandate, upholds health-care mandate

January 14, 2022
The Supreme Court struck down OSHA’s vaccine-or-test rule, but said the mandate for health-care workers to be vaccinated against covid could go into effect.

Paying with 91,500 pennies draws DOL’s attention—and more charges

January 11, 2022
A Georgia business owner is being sued for retaliation after delivering a former employee’s final pay in the form of 91,500 oil-covered pennies dumped in the man’s driveway.

Avoid constant questions about workers’ retirement

December 16, 2021
When a 60-year-old HP employee got a new manager, the boss began to call him “uncle,” criticized his “old skills” and repeatedly asked when he was “going to retire.” After losing his job in a RIF, the employee sued for age bias.

Be sure to track who you didn’t hire, too

December 9, 2021
If the same person who made a hiring decision, knowing the candidate belonged to a protected class, also makes the firing decision, it’s almost impossible for the former employee to sue and argue she was terminated because of discrimination. But to succeed in court, you must be able to describe the applicants you did not hire.

EEOC clarifies what’s pandemic retaliation

November 29, 2021
The EEOC has updated its retaliation guidance for the coronavirus pandemic age, releasing a new technical assistance document explaining how to balance employee anti-retaliation rights under the ADA, Title VII and other laws against an employer’s need to enforce covid health and safety protocols.