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Top 10 List: Why Supervisors Do NOT Need Basic Legal Training
Please don’t read this list literally! Vermont employment law attorney Jeffrey Nolan with Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew had his tongue firmly planted in cheek when he first shared this list with listeners during a national audio presentation on performance evaluations earlier today. Conference attendees asked us to send them a copy, and we thought you’d […]
Wage and Hour: Wal-Mart to Pay $3.9 Million to California Workers
The California Labor Commissioner has reached an agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., resolving charges that the retail giant underpaid overtime and other wages. Under the terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart will pay $3.9 million in overtime, waiting time penalties, and interest to approximately 50,000 current and former Wal-Mart workers in California. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart […]
U.S. Supreme Court Scrutinizes Racial Bias Ruling
After several years of employees being required to meet a very high standard to have their cases heard by a jury, that may be changing in the long term. The U.S. Supreme Court recently cautioned federal judges to be careful in the rules of evidence and legal standards for employment discrimination. The Court’s opinion offers […]
Employment Law Tip: Three Ways to Manage Workplace Romance
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, romance is in the air—and maybe even in the workplace. But while workplace romance may be a nice diversion for those involved, it can create some big risks for employers. This can include the threat of sexual harassment lawsuits when a relationship sours, lowered productivity, and even diminished morale […]
Are ‘Stealth’ Violations Lurking in Your Selection Standards?
Employers with the best of intentions can get tripped up by “stealth” violations of testing discrimination laws, says Fay Hansen, blogging on the Workforce Management website. Fay Hansen points out several situations in which employers get into trouble with their testing. Jobs change The first stealth problem is simply that jobs change. In today’s work […]
Employee’s MySpace is Not Your Space, Says Federal Jury
If you’ve thought about firing employees for things they post to social media websites, a recent decision by a federal jury sends a clear message that you should think again.
New EEOC guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has issued a new section in its compliance manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The agency concluded that the sharp rise in the number of religious discrimination charges, the growing religious diversity in the United States, and requests for guidance from stakeholders warranted the new compliance manual section. […]
Why Both Employers and Employees Need Practical Job Descriptions
Should our company use job descriptions? How long should they be, and what information should they contain? Do they really serve a useful purpose? Employers’ attorneys get those questions all the time, and the answer is always the same: Yes.
Hiring Military Veterans Makes Sense
U.S. troops have already begun leaving some Iraqi cities, and we now are about a year away from the target deadline the Obama administration has set for pulling a significant number of combat troops out of that country. The United States has more than 140,000 men and women currently serving in Iraq, all of whom […]