Human Resources

Problem: If an employee’s insubordinate behavior was caused by her bipolar disorder and you fire her, is the termination a violation of the Americans with Dis­­abil­­ities Act?

American businesses are also suffering during this flu season—the worst in dec­­ades. The CDC estimates that seasonal flu outbreaks, on average, cost employers $10.4 billion in direct health care costs and billions more in productivity. But it’s not legally wise to require employees to get a flu shot.

Good news for employers that list store managers as exempt even though they spend 50% or more of their time engaging in mundane tasks like stocking, running registers and assisting customers. Managers may be multitasking but that doesn’t mean they’re nonexempt.

Some may see this as part of the Obama administration’s alleged “war on Christmas.” In reality it was a simple enforcement action. The DOL recently played the Grinch by filing a lawsuit against a Dallas company that installs and removes Christmas lights.

Get an agreement in writing with any employees who use social media under the company’s name. It should clarify who owns those accounts and what will happen to the followers if the employees departs.

More employees these days are taking their grumblings about work (and their co-workers) from the office to the virtual watercoolers of Facebook, Twitter and other online outposts. But as a new ruling shows, it’s best to avoid punishing workers for discussing workplace issues online.

Employees who run out of FMLA leave may still be eligible for additional time off under the ADA if their condition qualifies as a disability.

HR Law 101: Drug testing and substance abuse prevention programs can involve substantial legal liability if employers don't manage and administer them properly. If your organization decides to implement a drug testing program, there are ways to minimize the risk of employee lawsuits ...

Q. We know that we are required to conduct sexual harassment training for our employees. But we’re not sure which of our employees we are required to train and what formats we can use to provide the training.

North Canton-based Star Air faces a DOL lawsuit that seeks more than $600,000 in fines and reinstatement for two drivers allegedly fired for re­­fusing to drive unsafe vehicles.