Extensive new regulations under the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) went into effect January 16, 2009. These regulations, nearly 200 pages in length, contain many changes and clarifications in the way employers must and can administer employee leave under this law.
Smoking was banned in almost all Pennsylvania workplaces, starting September 11, 2008. Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act, first adopted in 1988 without any real teeth, has now been amended to ban smoking in most workplaces, as well as numerous other places such as public transit, indoor sports facilities, theaters, educational facilities, along with restaurants and nightclubs (albeit with various exceptions).
A tax filing deadline is enough to drive some to drink as theylament the lack of common sense in governmental actions. Just to show thatall hope is not lost, we point to a recent instance where our government’s courts made sense out of a drinking case.
On January, 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law the first expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act to provide leave for military servicemember families.
The start of a new year is a good time to clean up lax practices and plan for likely changes under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Employers terminating employees, particularly in layoffs, often condition the receipt of severance pay or other benefits on the employees signing a release agreement. In return for the money or benefits it provides, the employer might as well get peace of mind that it won’t face any claims from the terminated employees. In order to achieve this goal, employers should pay attention to the details in the severance agreements as there is a growing trend of courts rejecting releases, particularly in group severance situations.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is out drumming up business in a new area – family responsibility discrimination – involving employment discrimination against caregivers, such as pregnant female employees or employees seeking leave to care for children or parents.
Learn more about the EEOC's Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities.
Employers can be held liable for not policing thier e-mail traffic. Recently enacted federal court rules require employers to turn over e-mails and computer records at the start of any lawsuit.
The number one thing you should be doing to prevent and save time and money on expensive employee legal claims is training your managers and staff now!