BUSINESS LAW: A single comment can create a claim

The law does not guarantee a perfect workplace. Courts do not want to be super-human resource departments, potentially reviewing every slight felt by employees.

BUSINESS LAW: Religious discrimination found

As noted in the past, federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on religion.

BUSINESS LAW: What defines a medical inquiry?

One given principle of the Americans With Disabilities Act provides that employee medical information obtained from “medical examinations and inquiries” must be treated as a confidential medical record. The issue is what is an inquiry?

BUSINESS LAW: Essential functions under the ADA

In order to be protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations.

BUSINESS LAW: Notice under the FLMA

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a covered employer must give a qualified employee FMLA leave to care for the employee's family member(s) with a serious health condition.

BUSINESS LAW: Returnign veteran can be terminated

In previous articles, we have discussed the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. A recent case held that under USERRA, an employer can terminate a returning veteran.

BUSINESS LAW: Trainees under the ADA

Pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), in order to be protected, the employee must be qualified to perform the duties of her job.

BUSINESS LAW: Retaliation claims on the rise

Retaliation claims are on the rise. They occur when a person exercises a protected right, only to then suffer an adverse employment action. Consider this case under the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA:

BUSINESS LAW: Honest belief as a defense

In our last article, we discussed age discrimination claims. Today, we will examine one key defense available to employers.

BUSINESS LAW: Age discrimination claims in the the workplace

As the workforce ages, we can expect to see an increase in age discrimination claims in the workplace. A recent case shows how these claims can arise.

BUSINESS LAW: Indefinite leave not required Under ADA

We have focused on the Americans With Disabilities Act over the past few articles. As previously noted, perhaps the most difficult issue for employers under the ADA relates to the extent an employer must permit an indefinite leave as a reasonable accommodation.

BUSINESS LAW: Rotating shifts and the ADA

In our last article, we discussed whether transferring a qualified disabled employee to a vacant job position was a required reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

BUSINESS LAW: Job reassignments under the ADA

Reasonable accommodations are at the heart of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

BUSINESS LAW: ADA and family members with disabilities

We have often discussed the far-reaching impact of the Americans With Disabilities Act. A recent case highlighted one of the few restrictions on its scope.

BUSINESS LAW: Under the ADA

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, or the ADA, an employee with a disability must be able to perform the essential functions of her job, with or without accommodations. Determining a job's "essential functions" can be critical.

BUSINESS LAW: Relationships between FMLA and ADA

As we have noted in the past, perhaps the most challenging task for employers is to successfully maneuver through the relationship between the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, and the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA

BUSINESS LAW: What is a treatment?

The Family and Medical Leave Act is one of the most difficult statutes for employers to work with.

BUSINESS LAW: Hostile work environments

As we have noted in the past, employees can allege hostile work environment claims based on race or national origin.

BUSINESS LAW: Equal pay for man and woman

Assume a female employee believes she is paid less than a male employee who performs substantially equal work under similar working conditions. Does the female have a claim against the employer?

BUSINESS LAW: Alienage is not a protected class

Immigration reform has been a hotly contested issue. President Obama's recent executive order further focused attention on the status of individuals who are illegally in the United States.

BUSINESS LAW: Attendance as essential function is employers' duty to prove

Common sense would seem to suggest regular attendance is an essential function of every job. This is an important concept.

BUSINESS LAW: Criminal background checks

Surveys suggest a substantial percentage of employers routinely use criminal background checks when hiring new employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commssion has just issued new guidelines, which limit this use.

BUSINESS LAW: Post-employment claims

In previous articles, we have discussed the application of the discrimination laws to the workplace. These laws protect applicants for employment, as well as employees.

BUSINESS LAW: Overtime and the ADA

As we have noted in prior articles, the Americans With Disabilities Act protects qualified individuals with a disability. Under the ADA, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

BUSINESS LAW: Promotions and discrimination claims

The various discrimination statutes we frequently discuss extend to promotion decisions. This will potentially be the case when a member of a protected class is passed over for a promotion in favor of an employee who is not in a protected class.

BUSINESS LAW: Defending discrimination complaints

More than ever, discrimination–based complaints are being raised in the workplace. In each instance, the key determination may focus on the conduct of either a co–worker, a supervisor, or a third party.

BUSINESS LAW: Application of policies may have discriminatory impacts

The federal discrimination laws, and the Equaly Employment Opportunity Commission in the enforcement of them, prohibit discrimination based on disparate treatment and disparate impact.

BUSINESS LAW: Comments do count

In employment discrimination cases, comments made by the employer's representatives often play an important role. This was true in two recent cases.

BUSINESS LAW: Timing can be everything in retaliation claims

In a typical retaliation case, an employee will claim an adverse employment decision, often termination, was in retaliation for the employee having exercised a protected right.

BUSINESS LAW: Outside activities and the ADA

In order to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA, employers must carefully consider all requests for reasonable accommodations from employees with disabilities.

BUSINESS LAW: Discrimination claims in employment relationships

The largest number of discrimination claims arise when an employee is terminated. However, a claim can arise at any point in the employment relationship, including promotions. Consider these facts:

BUSINESS LAW: ADA protects qualified individuals

As we have previously noted, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of a disability or a perceived disability.

BUSINESS LAW: Reinstating returning service personnel

President Barack Obama's announcement that our soldiers in Iraq will return by year's end refocuses attention on the re-employment rights of employees who were called into active duty.

BUSINESS LAW: More employers using performance improvement plans

More and more, employers are using performance improvement plans as part of their disciplinary procedures.

BUSINESS LAW: Employers must be careful with pre–employment activities.

Often, reported cases present two important lessons. Consider the facts of this case:

BUSINESS LAW: Employee's relationship with family members

In most of our articles, we have examined discrimination directed at an employee based on who or what he or she is: race, age, disabled, national origin, etc.

BUSINESS LAW: A hostile work environment can be general in nature

A hostile work environment based on gender can be created even when the unwelcomed offensive acts are present, in a general sense, but are not addressed to a specific person. Consider these facts:

BUSINESS LAW: Essential vs. nonessential functions of a job

Every job has its essential, as contrasted to nonessential, functions. In the most simple of ways, a function is essential if the purpose of the job is to perform it. For example, the ability to fly a plane is an essential function of the job of being a pilot.

BUSINESS LAW: Employers can be liable for co-worker harassment

As we have noted in the past, employers may be held liable if they are responsible for creating or tolerating a hostile work environment.

BUSINESS LAW: Drug use in the workplace

Increasingly, employers are attempting to address drug use in the workplace. Usually, this begins with pre-employment drug testing and extends through employment by means of a drug and alcohol policy.

BUSINESS LAW: USERRA leave differs from FMLA leave

For employers, it is difficult to comply with just one of the employment statutes we often discuss. Just think how difficult it is when the employer must coordinate two or three statutes at the same time.

BUSINESS LAW: Retaliation claim prevails

In previous articles, we have noted that claims of retaliation are increasing. Employers face great risk in these claims, especially when an adverse employment action falls close in time to an employee's exercise of a protected right.

BUSINESS LAW: The cat's paw

In the 17th century French fable, The Monkey and the Cat, a monkey convinces a cat to pull chestnuts from a fire. The cat burns his paws.

BUSINESS LAW: What is a similarly situated employee?

To prevail on a sex discrimination claim, a female employee must demonstrate that similarly situated men, subject to the same company policy, were treated more favorably.

BUSINESS LAW: Hostile environment claim can be based on single act

In order to maintain a hostile work environment claim, an employee must establish in part that she was subjected to unwelcome conduct due to her protected status (e.g., gender, race, age, etc.) and that the negative conduct was so severe or pervasive that it created a hostile environment.

BUSINESS LAW: Wage and hour claims increase

There was a time when most litigation arose at intersections, when cars, and later attorneys, collided. Now, unfortunately, the workplace is the most fertile place of litigation.

BUSINESS LAW: Religious descirimination claims in the workplace

A recent case highlights religious discrimination claims in the workplace. It also demonstrated how not to make an employment decision.

BUSINESS LAW: Employees in active service

One fact will not change as we enter 2011: the war on terrorism will continue, and many of the sacrifices will be borne by our employees.

BUSINESS LAW: Are they trainees or employees?

Placing high school and college students into the workplace is an important part of experiential learning.

BUSINESS LAW: Fair pay claims limited

The Fair Pay Act (sometimes called the Ledbetter Act) was the first piece of legislation signed by President Barack Obama. It is a discrimination statute aimed at prohibiting pay decisions from being made on a discriminatory basis (e.g., gender, age, race, national origin, etc.).