Legal Issues

When have you crossed the line into immigration status discrimination?

July 29, 2020
Many employers don’t grasp the subtle difference between national origin discrimination and immigration status discrimination. Take our quiz to determine if your company is engaging in legally dangerous practices.

Choosing applicants based on ‘it factor’: Is that job bias?

July 23, 2020
Here’s a $215,000 reminder that it’s always better to use objective, quantifiable measures in hiring, rather than relying on subjective factors.

Inspect remote worksites to uncover hidden harassment

July 2, 2020
Harassment—sexual and otherwise—often flourishes in remote work locations where there is little direct supervision. One of the best ways to rein it in: routine, unannounced workplace visits by HR.

Avoid 3 critical errors when reopening the office

June 30, 2020
In a still-confusing time, you want to get people back to work, and keep them there. But Dan Kaplan,a partner at Foley & Lardner’s Madison, Wisconsin office and a leader on the firm’s Coronavirus Task Force, has some reminders for us of the organizational and legal issues we cannot look past.

Beware suits from staff who know your shortcomings

June 25, 2020
Widespread protests calling for an end to systemic racism have caught the attention of corporate America.

Steer clear of basing pay on previous compensation

June 18, 2020
Attorneys who represent employees and job applicants are starting to win equal-pay cases they might have lost in years past. They are claiming that basing a new employee’s starting pay on how much he or she earned before so perpetuates past bias that it is itself a discriminatory act.

At last! The skinny on reimbursing employees’ internet access

June 9, 2020
This is a rather salient issue now, as so many employees are working from home.

OK to discipline for leaving work ‘feeling sick’

May 14, 2020
If a worker tells her supervisor she’s having a flareup of a serious health condition and must leave, that may invoke the FMLA, the ADA or both. But a run-of-the-mill, “I feel sick and am going home” declaration isn’t protected activity.

No, you can’t order a blanket ban on certain meds

April 30, 2020
At the heart of the ADA is the rule that reasonable accommodations must be based on an individualized assessment of a disabled employee’s medical condition and the requirements of his or her job. Employers cannot make blanket determinations that disabled workers are unable to perform their jobs based on their diagnoses—or the medicines they use.

Don’t let assistive technology affect hiring

April 23, 2020
Warn hiring managers not to disregard an applicant because assistive technologies indicate he or she might be disabled. Those systems provide evidence of bias that can be used against you in court.