Teenagers! In the world of social media, they seem to have no sense of privacy. They will share anything and everything with their multitude of Facebook “friends.” And in one case, doing that cost the teenager’s father $80,000 for breach of the confidentiality provision in his settlement agreement.
Litigation
Regular Attendance Can Be An Essential Job Function – Really!
By Fiona W. Ong on
One of the most challenging issues that my clients deal with is managing employee leave rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Getting employees to come to work on a regular basis can be frustrating – hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing frustrating. So the recent case of Mecca v. Florida Health …
Fewer Work Hours Should Mean Less Work
By Fiona W. Ong on
This seems like a no-brainer – if an employee has to work fewer hours, the employer should expect (and assign) less work from the employee. Well, an employer you would think would be savvy about this obvious point – IBM – seems to have missed it, in the case of Hochstetler v. International Business Machines, …
Racial Profiling in the Workplace?
By Fiona W. Ong on
We’ve heard about racial profiling by the police. But what about by employers? A state agency, the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, made the very broad (and aggressive) finding that, “Racial profiling occurs when an employee . . . is questioned, disciplined, and terminated, on the basis of his race.” That is a strange definition of…
Employee’s Right to Remain Silent Trumps Employer’s Right to Terminate?
By Fiona W. Ong on
Posted in Laws & Regulations, Litigation
It seemed obvious to me, and I imagine most employers would agree, that if an employee refused to participate in a police investigation into workplace theft, you could terminate that employee. Well, we all might be wrong (??!!), according to a federal district court, in the case of Gomez v. Garda CL Great Lakes, Inc…
FCRA Obligations of Former Employers
By Fiona W. Ong on
Most (I hope) employers understand that they have to comply with the notice and authorization requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when using a third party to conduct background checks of current and prospective employees. What many employers don’t realize is that there are certain FCRA obligations that may apply with regard to …
Sniffing Can Be Sexually Harassing
By Fiona W. Ong on
It dumbfounds me how creative people can be in coming up with new ways to harass others. Take, for example, the recent case of Royal v. CCC&R Tres Arboles, LLC, which involved a complaint of sexual sniffing. Yes, sniffing. Like a dog.
A female employee worked as an apartment complex leasing manager for only…
FMLA Is Not A “Get Out Of Jail Free” Card
By Fiona W. Ong on
Some employees seem to think that if they take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), they are protected from any and all discipline. Some employers, confused by FMLA’s many requirements and restrictions, appear to agree. But the reality is that FMLA doesn’t insulate an employee from the consequences of her bad behavior. …
Managers Can Be Individually Liable For Discrimination – Or Not?
By Fiona W. Ong on
In a ruling that will strike fear into the hearts of managers everywhere, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held that managers can be held individually liable for discrimination under Title VII. Yes, that means if you’re a manager, you can be sued personally and potentially be on the hook – personally – for…
FMLA Fraud – Confirmed!
So many of my clients are dealing with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) abuse by various bad apple employees. I really feel their frustration because, as many of you know, it is really challenging to address FMLA abuse effectively given the law’s broad protections for employees. So it’s nice when, every once in a…