Articles and Blogs

In the Case of a Director at an Acute Care Hospital the Answer Is No Employers covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are required to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. Was it discrimination for an acute care... READ MORE

A New Indiana Criminal Records Law Affects Employers A new Indiana law (House Enrolled Act No. 1482) that protects the rights of individuals whose arrests and convictions have been expunged by court order will take effect on July 1, 2013.  This new law will affect employers in Indiana because it prohibits employers from discriminating... READ MORE

Your Leave Is Up – Sorry but You’re Fired Many employers have medical leave policies.  Most of those policies allow leave for a maximum duration often three to six months or even up to a year.  The FMLA, of course, guarantees job protection for 12 weeks.  But what is an employer to do if... READ MORE

Earlier this year, we told you about a recent case from Kentucky in which a federal court found that it was not reasonable for a plaintiff to expect his employer to accommodate his lifting restrictions by spreading essential lifting requirements among the plaintiff’s co-workers. READ MORE

Notice Posting Rule Is Struck Down Back in August 2011, the NLRB published a rule that would require private employers to post in conspicuous places a government poster intended to notify employees of their rights under the NLRA.  Business groups challenged the rule, and the NLRB delayed the effective date several times.  Then in early 2012,... READ MORE

For the past several years, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has been devoting considerable attention to worker classification issues involving the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  These misclassifications are important to the IRS and the federal government because they often lead to underreporting and underpayment of taxes.  Traditionally, the IRS has sought to... READ MORE

Confidentiality Requirements Challenged by the NLRB Last summer, the NLRB created another stir among private employers when it found that an employer’s form used during confidential investigations of workplace issues was unlawfully broad and interfered with employee rights.  We wrote about this development in our August 7, 2012 HR Insights article Confidential Investigations –... READ MORE

Treating Employees the Same – Always Required? Employers have always been advised to treat their employees the same, and if they don’t, it can be evidence of unlawful discrimination.  This issue came up in a recent case involving an employer that required a black employee who was involved in an altercation to go for a... READ MORE

We’re All Getting Old The U. S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2050 nearly 20 million workers or about 20% of the national workforce will be 65 or older.  That represents an increase of 75% while the number of workers ages 25 to 54 is predicted to grow by only 2%. The health care... READ MORE

OFCCP continued its courtesy of providing advance notice to companies it plans to schedule for affirmative action compliance reviews.  OFCCP mailed the notices, known as Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (“CSALs”), on March 27, 2013.  Consistent with its recent practice, the notices are addressed to the “Human Resource Director” at local establishments as opposed to... READ MORE