Many employers have maternity leave policies that provide a period of paid time off following birth or adoption. That’s fine. But if you intend for paid maternity...
Because the choice between being fired or retiring isn’t entirely voluntary, a forced retirement is sometimes the legal equivalent of being fired. The employee may...
Sometimes, it is up to HR to stop bosses from doing the wrong thing—for example, when he is frustrated because he has to accommodate a disabled worker’s...
Travel time pay for hourly employees baffles many employers. Mistakes can spark anything from complaints to lawsuits. Here's an easy breakdown of the laws.
As a manager, you have a legal responsibility to be on the lookout for misconduct. Here’s what’s considered sexual harassment in American workplaces and...
If an employee complains about discrimination or takes protected leave, beware taking any action that smacks of retaliation. Otherwise, you are risking a lawsuit.
Q. Our company often deducts the costs of meals and lodging from live-in employees’ minimum wages. How much can we credit meals and lodging against minimum wage in...
Generally, seamen aren’t covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions. However, it’s not as simple as one might think to decide who...
On the same day President Trump tweeted that transgender individuals could no longer serve in the armed forces, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a...
Employers that patiently go about the sometimes complicated business of identifying reasonable accommodations for disabled employees seldom end up losing in court. The...
Q. An employee just came into HR demanding that we provide her with unlimited breaks for expressing milk. Is this true? She said she read it at the Minnesota Department...
Are you disputing an employee’s workers’ compensation claim? Be careful how you handle absences during the time the case is working its way through the...
Employees who qualify for FMLA leave can’t be punished for taking it. Any action that could be seen as dissuading workers from exercising their right to take FMLA...
Employers can’t prevent every harassment incident. But they can provide a way for employees to complain about it and commit to taking swift action when they learn...
HR professionals sometimes warn managers that suspending an employee without pay can backfire—even if it’s for what seem like legitimate reasons. The problem...
When a volunteer for a nonprofit organization is “fired” from his voluntary position and the organization subsequently reports the circumstances to his...
Q. One of our employees suffers from arthritis and has complained that the temperature of the office triggers joint pain. She has requested that we heat the entire...
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s decision that urinary incontinence is not a disability under the state’s disability discrimination laws.
A federal judge in New York, presiding over a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit, has found that First Bankers Trust Services breached its duties of prudence and loyalty...
