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The Employer Handbook BlogShort of denying leave, an employer can still violate the FMLA just by discouraging someone from taking it
Two posts in one week about interference with Family and Medical Leave Act rights. Continue reading
Employers are singing the praises for the EEOC’s online mediation program
As an employment law mediator, my resume includes many years of private practice and service to some federal courts. But I cut my chops at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have remained a volunteer mediator with the EEOC for over a decade.
If anyone asked me what I thought of the EEOC’s Mediation Program, I would’ve told employers and employees alike to embrace it as an effective way to resolve employment disputes without the time, cost, and risk associated with litigation.
But no one asked me.
The FMLA does not require clairvoyance
“Clairvoyance,” that’s a 10th-grade word. Let me Google it just in case.
Ok, we’re good. Continue reading
Is lower co-worker morale reason enough to deny a religious accommodation?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on religion. This includes refusing to accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.
An “undue hardship” results in more than a de minimis cost to the employer. Objectively, paying more overtime is one example.
But what about when accommodating one employee lowers morale for others? Does that create undue hardship? Continue reading
The DOL not only provides guidance on the FMLA, but it also enforces the law.
Kind of like that guy, except without the snazzy mustache and a lot less British. Continue reading
Five ways that employers botch FMLA for mental health conditions (and how to get it right instead)
May is Mental Health Month. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act, just dropped some additional resources for workers on their rights to take leave for serious mental health conditions and for employers to better understand how to comply with the FMLA.
Lawyers and HR professionals weigh in on Josh Donaldson’s ‘Jackie’ comment. So does Major League Baseball.
On Monday, I blogged about a weekend incident in which New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson in which Mr. Anderson claimed that Mr. Donaldson referred to him as “Jackie,” a reference to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. Continue reading
Supreme Court makes it harder for employers who litigate arbitrable claims to change their minds
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that federal courts may not adopt an arbitration-specific waiver rule demanding a showing of prejudice.
Huh? Continue reading
What should Major League Baseball do about a white baseball player calling a black player ‘Jackie’ [Robinson]?
During the third inning of Saturday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, Yankees’ third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had to be separated after an exchange of words (and some earlier in the game) in which Mr. Anderson claimed that Mr. Donaldson referred to him as “Jackie,” a reference to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
