The cardinal rule for employers is to punish like offenses the same way. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have some flexibility. For example, when two...
Illinois’ long-standing mistrust of the federal government’s E-Verify employment eligibility verification program has now been codified into a new law...
Employees who suffer from an impaired ability to become pregnant are disabled under the ADA. Since childbearing is a major life activity, conditions that interfere...
Just in time for March Madness … the new draft of a prominent American Psychiatric Association (APA) manual recommends expanding the category of “mental...
The FLSA allows employers to round off an hourly employee’s arrival or departure time to the nearest five minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter of an hour. But your...
Don’t, under any circumstances, use co-worker resentment over disability accommodations as a reason to transfer or terminate the disabled employee. If you’re...
Child care is expensive, and many parents eager to avoid high day-care costs ask their own parents to watch the kids. That’s great if it works out. But in...
The snow's coming down pretty hard and an exempt employee calls to say she can't make it in today because her car is stuck. Can you deduct a full day's pay from her...
Employees often claim their jobs stress them out. And for some, it’s so bad they feel they need to take off work to cope. That doesn’t mean, however, that...
It’s time to take a fresh look at the health questionnaires you hand out to employees as part of your wellness program. New federal regulations that prohibit...
For the first time in the United States, an employee has successfully won workers’ compensation benefits for mold exposure, even though the industry...
Smart organizations educate their employees about acceptable email use and follow a policy of regular computer-file purging to keep the company network free of...
Many employers believe that if an employee needs accommodations for a disability that’s related to the same serious health condition covered by the FMLA, they...
Employees who request FMLA leave can’t be punished for doing so. That would be retaliation and interference with the right to leave. But merely asking about FMLA...
Employees returning from FMLA leave are entitled to reinstatement to their former jobs or equivalent positions. However, an employer can terminate an employee while...
Unlike employees, independent contractors can’t sue under Title VII for alleged discrimination. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have legal options if...
It’s frustrating when an employee continually claims to be the victim of discrimination while internal investigations show that just isn’t so. If an employer...
Employers don’t have to put up with employees who pose a safety hazard to others—or to themselves. While suicidal behavior at work may indicate that an...
It may be terribly annoying and very disruptive, but it is also the law: Employees eligible for intermittent FMLA leave are entitled to take that leave at the beginning...
