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High Court Defines ‘Charge’ in Age Discrimination

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the definition of a “charge” of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Under the ADEA, an employee is required to file a “charge” with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before the dispute is escalated to court. But the term “charge” is not […]

FLSA: Do Tipped Workers Have a Minimum Wage Claim?

by Steven L. Brenneman Employers with workers who earn tips have long struggled with adhering to special rules for tipped employees, especially when those employees may also perform duties that don’t produce tips. A recent decision by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—provides some much needed clarity and comfort […]

Tip Four: Recertify

–Have the employee recertify the condition as often as you can, in many cases, as often as every 30 days. This is at the worker’s expense and has proved a strong deterrent to bogus leave claims. Go to Tip Five

Should We Train Managers As We Do Shamu the Whale?

BLR founder Bob Brady’s look at manager training may be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a really important principle behind it. There was a wonderful article by author Amy Sutherland in The New York Times recently. She wrote about how animal training technique helped her train her husband. The article could help us train managers and supervisors, […]

Contractors for Storm Clean-up Pose Misclassification Risks

Hurricane Sandy’s path of destruction has left many homeowners, municipalities and businesses in need of reconstruction and repairs — and when such weather-related disasters require massive reconstruction efforts, many landscapers and builders hire subcontractors to help. Increased joint employer liability, particularly in those industries that frequently use subcontractors, often goes hand-in-hand with worker misclassification. Employers […]

Tip Two: Don’t Forget the Form

–Use a form that asks the certifying doctor for complete information on the claimed condition, including schedule of dates and times for treatments, and minimum amount of time leave will be needed. The DOL provides a form for this purpose. Go to Tip Three

5 Steps to Increase the Payback on Your Training Dollars-HR Daily Advisor-BLR

Here are the steps you need to take to make sure your employee training is always successful and cost-effective: Make training an ongoing process, and reassess training needs frequently to make sure you’re meeting today’s needs, not yesterday’s. Encourage employees to talk about their training needs and request additional training. Provide employees with opportunities to […]

Employment Law Tip: Get a Severance Signoff

Employers often use severance pay as a way to fend off possible lawsuits by departing employees. But here’s the catch: if you don’t require the employee to sign a waiver of all rights to sue you in exchange for the severance, you can be sued anyway. Whenever you offer severance an employee is not otherwise […]

News Notes: Ex-Worker Who Took Family Leave Sues For Refusal To Rehire

A former employee who claims his employer refused to rehire him becausehe took too much family leave can sue under the federal Family and MedicalLeave Act, according to a federal appellate court. Mark Duckworth had takena 52-day medical leave from his job at Pratt & Whitney, Inc., becauseof a punctured lung. When he was subsequently […]