Legal Issues

If you have hourly employees working from home, make sure their supervisors understand their role in preventing surprise wage-and-hour claims.

Employers that are generally fair and reasonable can bounce back from isolated instances in which managers make stupid mistakes that look discriminatory. Having a history of fair and transparent promotions and pay increases tends to demonstrate that an employer doesn’t intend to discriminate.

Q: “A new exempt employee has been having issues completing tasks, and has stated he forgets because he was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. We sent a reasonable accommodation request form to be completed by the employee and his physician (and included a full job description). On the first deadline, the employee called out sick. We waited a few days past the deadline and sent a request renewal extending the due date. The employee responded that he would not be requesting an accommodation at this time. Since the employee disclosed to his supervisor his condition as a reason for not competing work and missing deadlines, what are our obligations at this time? Do we still have an exposure because he made the statement? He has been out frequently.”  – Lorraine, New York

Pro tip for managers: Listen to your employees! It generally makes for a more harmonious and productive workplace. In the following case, it could have prevented an unforced error that wound up costing an employer a six-figure jury award.