When employers don’t understand wage-and-hour laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act—or worse, when they try to circumvent that law—they can find themselves on the hook for potentially costly penalties. Even relatively small violations can quickly add up.
The state of Missouri is suing Starbucks, alleging that the coffee chain’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs are a “mere pretext for its actual commitment to unlawful discrimination.”
Terminations are probably the hardest things HR professionals have to handle—and probably the most legally dangerous. One wrong word can trigger a lawsuit. You need to keep calm and communicate your message without escalating the tension. Here’s a 10-step process to follow.
A federal court has decided that employees like HR professionals and supervisors can sometimes be held personally liable for FMLA violations. That means their assets can be seized to pay damages.
The cost of defending even a meritless lawsuit can run into the thousands of dollars. One way to prevent such costs and embarrassment is to teach supervisors to avoid angering employees in the first place. Train them to be aware of these four common mistakes.
We are a small business that provides temporary staffing to hospitals in California. California law requires paying overtime when employees work more than eight hours in a workday. A hospital to which we supply workers has asked us if our employees can work four 10-hour shifts with no overtime instead of five eight-hour shifts. Can we agree to the hospital’s request?
Competing needs may mean that even well-intentioned supervisors mishandle ADA accommodations. That’s why it’s important to train supervisors that they must honor approved disability accommodations and immediately refer all requests to modify accommodations to HR.
Most organizations conduct exit interviews with departing employees to determine why they’ve resigned. Exit interviews can be a great HR tool, but you have to know what questions to ask and, at the same time, what questions to avoid for legal reasons.
It doesn’t matter if the underlying complaint is legitimate. If anyone in a position of authority acts against an employee who has filed a complaint, you can expect a retaliation lawsuit.
If it appears you’re pushing an employee out the door based on his age—or if you suddenly eliminate his position after discussing retirement—you’ll set yourself up for an age-discrimination lawsuit. Apply these tips to ensure well-intentioned conversations don’t trigger legal trouble.
