Tag: Employment law

More Protections for Disabled Employees Coming

By Alix Herber and Michelle Johnston The Ontario government is leading the Canadian provinces in its push for accessibility for people with disabilities, a ratio that is estimated to rise to one in five people in Canada by 2025. In accordance with a new regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Ontario […]

FLSA Consent Decree Shows DOL Mission to Protect Low-wage ‘Vulnerable’ Workers in Small Firms

When it comes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), no employer is small enough to fly under U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) enforcement radar. Defunct 1st National Leasing Inc. agreed to pay eight former telemarketing employees $34,235 in back wages under a July 19 consent judgment that will put an end to DOL allegations […]

In Search of (Divine) Comedy

Last week’s post lamented the August heat (call it an inferno) many parts of the country are enduring, while looking ahead wistfully to the promised land (call it a paradise) of a new season for The Office.  In the midst of this entertainment limbo, I took the suggestion of a fellow blogger and sought inspirational […]

Second Obama WHD Nominee Goes Down in Flames

These Queen lyrics fit what’s going on with President Obama’s nominees to the Wage and Hour Division: And another one gone, and another one gone; another one bites the dust! President Obama withdrew the nomination of Leon Rodriguez to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. […]

Canadian Court OKs Random Alcohol Testing

by Nicola Sutton The recent decision of Limited v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal has upheld random alcohol testing where the workplace is determined to be “inherently dangerous” and the method of testing is minimally intrusive. This is an important case for employers seeking […]

Social Media and Hiring: Beware of Other Legal Risks

Yesterday, we noted that because of anti-discrimination and credit reporting laws, when it comes to using social media to gain intel on prospective employees, HR professionals cannot just act like kids in the candy store. Why, they can’t even act like kids in the candy aisle at the grocery, because there are even more legal […]

Chronically Ill Spouse Is No Excuse for Poor Work Performance in Association Discrimination Claim

Recently, an employee argued in an association discrimination claim that he was fired because his employer feared he would be distracted at work by his wife’s disability. That excuse didn’t pan out, because in fact the employer was just fed up with the individual’s poor performance, making it a legitimate employment termination. So in a […]

Ideas for Surviving Sitcom Purgatory

I feel like I’m trapped in sitcom purgatory, stuck between The Office episodes of yesteryear and the glorious Scranton Promised Land where James Spader reigns supreme as the new branch manager. If you are like me, and find the combination of August heat and reruns to be oppressive at times, I have the following suggestions. […]

Court Upholds $923,656 Back-Pay Award

On May 31, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision awarding $923,656 in back pay to a terminated employee of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency of the U.S. government. The decision shows the damages available to employees that prove retaliation based on the filing of an Equal Employment […]

Social Media: Used Not Just to ‘Friend’, but to Hire

“Should employers be allowed to screen job candidates based on their online behavior even if their actions are not pertinent to t he listed job?” That was the query today from Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary. For human resources (HR) staff, this is not a theoretical question; it’s a very real struggle. The brave […]