Issue: Court raises threshold for employees to qualify for FMLA leave. Benefit: Workers can take FMLA leave if they have a serious condition causing three consecutive...
Issue: Personal relationships between employees and their bosses are ripe conditions for legal trouble. Risk: Any form of quid pro quo ("this for that") exchange of...
Issue: Some courts consider agreements, signed or unsigned, to be valid, binding contracts. Risk: A manager's verbal promise could lock your company into legal...
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says you must make accommodations to let disabled employees perform the essential functions of their jobs. But regular, on-time...
If employees' on-site amorous actions are making you or their co-workers uncomfortable, don't be afraid to tell the lovebirds to withhold their romance for more private,...
You can obtain the best possible results from employment actions simply by performing them on the optimal day of the week, according to outplacement consulting firm...
Issue: A new court ruling makes it more difficult to stop former employees from blitzing your workplace with e-mail messages, including those that criticize ...
Issue: If managers "go public" about employee discipline, it could spark an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit. Risk: Jury awards and damaged employee morale, leading to...
Issue: Even if it employs fewer than 50 people, your organization could be subject to FMLA compliance. Risk: Being affiliated with another organization could mean that,...
If your company has fewer than 50 workers, yet is somehow linked to another employer or location, you may incorrectly believe that you don't need to comply with ...
It's true that your company could be held liable if it rejects an applicant based on inaccurate data in his background check. But don't stop doing background ...
Issue: Unless your policy prevents it, employees can work a second job while out on medical-related FMLA leave. Risk: Reduced productivity as employees "work" the...
Courts typically don't consider pregnancy alone to be a "serious medical condition" qualifying for job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)....
Don't allow employees to use their disabilities as justification for poor behavior, especially if it clearly threatens your workplace. Even if an employee is ...
If you screw up on a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) pay issue, don't count on the "window of corrections" to save you. Sure, this Labor Department rule allows you to ...
Truck driver Joseph Scamihorn Jr. saw his 73-year-old father fall into a deep depression soon after his daughter, Joseph's sister, was murdered. After notifying his...
Traditionally, volunteers donate their time to nonprofit groups, like the American Red Cross, without an expectation of being paid. Such true volunteers aren't covered...
An employee wants to confess wrongdoing or alert you to sensitive
personnel or safety matters. But before opening up, the worker asks,
“Can you keep this...