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Record $240M ADA Award Likely to Be Reduced

The largest jury award ever for a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit must be reduced to meet a statutory cap, the commission noted May 10 in final court filings. A court will have the final say over whether the award will be reduced, however. A jury on May 2 awarded $240 million to 32 […]

Administration Proposes Overtime Expansion, Solicits Employer Buy-in

President Obama announced a proposed rule to “modernize” and expand overtime protections for workers on March 13. The administration signaled that it would like to expand overtime protections through a U.S. Department of Labor rule change that would raise the salary threshold defining which workers are exempt from overtime and potentially evaluate some of the […]

Was It OK to Insist that Employee Receive Alcohol Treatment?

This content was originally published in April 2009. For the latest FMLA regulation changes, visit our FMLA article archives or try our practical FMLA compliance guide. If an employer requires an employee to complete an inpatient alcohol treatment as a condition of keeping his job, does it regard him as an alcoholic? What happened. “Clark” […]

Timing of Backaches Justifies Firing, Negates FLMA and ADA Claims

Some people complain about “rheumatism,” backaches and other physical ills when the weather shifts. For a Southwest Airlines employee, his backaches — and resulting requests for Family and Medical Act (FMLA) leave — seemed to follow the same shift as holidays and vacation time. Southwest determined that this was not the whim of nature but […]

Equal Pay: OFCCP Issues Guidelines for Rooting Out Systemic Pay Bias

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces federal anti-bias and affirmative action laws affecting federal contractors, has issued new rules for finding discrimination in federal contractors’ pay systems, as well as guidelines for contractors to conduct self-audits. The rules went into effect on the same day the OFCCP published them, June 16, […]

Delighted in Dayton: Bummed out in Boulder

Forbes recently commissioned online website CareerBliss to dive into its employee happiness data and determine which cities in the United State have the happiest workers—and which have the unhappiest. Here are the results: Cities with the Happiest Workers Rank City CareerBliss Score 1 Dayton, OH 4.02 out of 5 2 Knoxville, TN 4.02 out of 5 […]

‘Women Think Everything Is Domestic Violence’ (Your Manager?)

Although domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking are not on “the list” of protected categories, there are many instances where such behavior—or managers’ attitudes—can violate Title VII and the ADA. DOL’s  recently released Questions and Answers: The Application of Title VII and the ADA to Applicants or Employees Who Experience Domestic or Dating Violence, Sexual […]

HOT LIST: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on June 23. 1 The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business, by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson and Ethan Willis. A fictional parable incorporating real-life advice on how to start a business. […]

Court Gives Employee Extra Time to File Bias Charge

When an employee with a discrimination beef voluntarily pursues an internal administrative remedy—such as a grievance or complaint procedure—prior to filing a discrimination complaint under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), does that extend the time the employee has to file a FEHA charge? The California Supreme Court, in a new case, says […]