Fair Employment Practices Guidelines articles from October 2002

Fair Employment Practices Guidelines archives from October 2002

Interactive process poses problems for employers.(Americans with Disabilities Act accomodation)
October 15, 2002... The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) clearly states that an employer has a duty to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee. In order to determine whether an accommodation is reasonable, both the employer and the employee...

Internet job applications overwhelm employers.
October 15, 2002... At the touch of a button, millions of job hunters can instantly send their resume to thousands of companies over the World Wide Web at once. This has exacerbated the problems companies and their HR departments already faced when asking the...

Too many notifications, too many FMLA leaves. (FMLA).(complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act)
October 15, 2002... When issuing notifications in compliance with the family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it's important to follow correct tinting to avoid sending out redundant notices. Bad paperwork can lead to questions over how much leave an employee really...

Disability must be "determining factor" to support ADA claim. (Disability Law).(Americans with Disabilities Act)
October 15, 2002... A supervisor's comments may give an employee the impression that a firing decision was discriminatory, but one court says it may take more than a few stray comments to prove a disability discrimination claim. A woman who suffered from...

Get employees back on track with one-on-one training. (Employer Defenses).
October 15, 2002... This is an all-too-familiar scenario I hear from fellow HR professionals: "We just finished a harassment investigation. The complaint was made against Pat, an otherwise great employee. We concluded that there were some policy violations and...

State law steers clear of FMLA. (Ohio).(Family and Medical Leave Act)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... The Ohio state supreme court has said that it wi]l not extend state common law to cover wrongful discharge claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The court said that the FMLA has a stand-alone remedial scheme that provides...

Employer knew enough about harassment. (North Carolina).(sexual harassment case)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... A woman quit her job and sueder ex-employer for sexual harassment. She said she suffered both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She claimed that the employer failed to take appropriate action when it knew she was...

Harassment policy was just words. (New Jersey).(sexual harassment case)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... An effective harassment policy must be more than just words on paper, says the New Jersey supreme court. An employer was unable to use its clear and seemingly complete harassment policy to defend itself against a sexual harassment complaint...

New division helps prove age bias. (Massachusetts).(age discrminination case)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... After a merger, an employer laid off three of its six sales-people. All three were over age 40, and the remaining employees were all under age 40. Two months after the layoffs, the employer opened a new office and shortly thereafter hired...

New enterprise was employees' business. (Wisconsin).(employment law case)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... A man sold his business to a larger corporation and was hired on as a supervisor. While at work, he learned that some of his past employees--now his co-workers--were planning to start their own competing business. He did not report this...

EEOC win $155,000 jury verdict in retaliation case. (Quick Looks).(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... A Texas federal jury has found that the Red River Beverage Company fired an employee in retaliation for filing a sex-based discrimination charge with the US. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The employee filed a pregnancy...

EEOC sues Wendy's for ADA harassment. (Quick Looks).(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2002... EEOC sues Wendy's for ADA harassment. The EEOC has filed a federal lawsuit against Spylen of Denville, Inc (doing business as Wendy's), charging that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The EEOC says the employees...

Benefits can be a sensitive topic in age discrimination cases. (Age Discrimination).
October 1, 2002... The employee benefits an organization offers may play a role in giving employees the impression that their employer is discriminating against them because of their age. Two recent cases show how the employer's handling of benefits decisions...

Split duties means woman performed different work. (Equal Pay Act).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Some employees split their work between two different jobs. When this occurs, there can be some confusion over what constitutes "equal" pay. A woman was hired as a union organizer and was later given many of the duties of a business...

Transfer was not constructive discharge. (Age Discrimination).
October 1, 2002... Sometimes when an employer forces a long-time worker to change jobs or take on new responsibilities, the move can be seen as an effort to force the older worker to quit. Employers must make certain they have valid business reasons for forcing...

EEOC issues ADA handbook for small business. (Disability Law).(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced the publication of a new resource: The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Primer for Small Business. Offering examples, tips, and "do's and don'ts," the handbook covers the...

Mental-mental claims cause "headaches" for the courts. (Workers' Compensation).
October 1, 2002... Workers' compensation (WC) is one benefit emloyees often take for granted (and sometimes take advantage of). Mental disability, in particular, claims is one area where it can be difficult to tell the difference between valid and invalid...

Searching for the "best" accommodation. (Disability Law).
October 1, 2002... When offered a choice of several possible accommodations for an employee with a qualified disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), are you free to pick the one that suits company interests? Or must you strive for the "best...

Ask the expert: Q&A.(terminating an employee because of warrants for his arrest)
October 1, 2002... Q A background check for a new employee indicates that there are two warrants for his arrest (4/02/98 and 2/23/99) for misdemeanor theft of less than $300 in value. I have two questions: 1. Technically, he did not lie on his application,...

Disability and FMLA absence management still a challenge. (Quick Looks).(Family and Medical Leave Act)
October 1, 2002... * Disability and FMLA absence management still a challenge. Although U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that companies lose approximately 2.8 million workdays each year due to employee injuries and illnesses, many employers still have...