| HR HEADLINES |
Fewer
Companies Are Drug Testing
Courier News, 5/14/06
Convert
or Not to a Roth IRA?
Philadelphia Enquirer, 5/12/06
Support
for Aging Parent Care
AccountingWEB.com, 5/12/06
Private
Companies Reign in Executive Compensation
PR Newswire,
5/12/06
Review
ranks pay, benefits for people with disabilities
The
Olympian, 5/12/06
Long
Shorts, or Short Pants, as Office Wear
New York Times,
5/11/06
Labor's
lukewarm welcome
San Francisco Chronicle, 5/10/06
Workplace
injuries can be complex
Portland Press Herald, 5/9/06
Immigration
and Salary Levels
San Francisco Chronicle, 4/27/06
EEOC
Rooting Out Abuse
The Charlotte Observer, 3/15/06
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The Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) provides an employee with a basic
right of reinstatement following a return from
leave under the Act. Specifically, an employee is
(1) to be restored by the employer to the position
of employment held by the employee when the leave
commenced; or (2) to be restored to an equivalent
position with equivalent employment benefits, pay
and other terms and conditions of employment.
However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
in Yashenko v. Harrah’s NC Casino Company
LLC that this right of reinstatement is not
absolute. The Court notes that no further rights
are bestowed on an employee than they would have
had without taking leave. Thus, valid employer
actions such as elimination of a position occupied
by an employee on leave as part of a
reorganization may supercede the FMLA right of
reinstatement. The test is whether the employer
can show that the employee would not have
otherwise been employed at the time of the request
for reinstatement. MORE
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The EEOC updated its
Compliance Manual in April to clarify its position
with respect to what it feels are contemporary
forms of discrimination. The new manual reaffirms
that Title VII encompasses race discrimination
based upon ancestry and physical traits but notes
the protection applies also to other
characteristics including culture, race-linked
illness, perception of race, reverse race
discrimination and association with a racial
group. Guidance is also given with respect to
color discrimination which “occurs when a person
is discriminated against based on his/her skin
pigmentation (darkness or lightness of the skin),
complexion, shade or tone.” The refinement of
categories of discrimination also addresses
related protected bases such as the association of
certain religions with national origin and
“intersectional discrimination” where, for
example, African-American women may experience
discriminatory practices without a general bias
against African-Americans. To review the new EEOC
Manual click MORE
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When it seems that Title
VII is looming as a threat to every employment
decision, it might be refreshing to remember that
it doesn’t prohibit an employer from hiring
friends over others regardless of qualifications.
In Benzies v. Illinois Department of Mental
Health, Judge Easterbrook said “Title VII does
not compel every employer to have a good reason
for its deeds; it is not a civil service statute.
Unless the employer acted for a reason prohibited
by the statue, the plaintiff loses.” Employers can
thus give preference in hiring, promotions and
other job related actions based upon friendship,
familiarity or any number of other close ties with
an applicant or employee whether or not the
decision makes any business sense whatsoever as
long as that reason is clear and not based on
discrimination. MORE
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An employee with a
disability does not have to request a specific
reasonable accommodation under Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that once an
employer has notice that a disabled employee has
indicated a need for an accommodation, the
employer has an obligation to interactively
explore reasonable accommodations that might be
made. The employee does not have to prove that a
specific accommodation was requested in order to
be protected under the requirements of the
Act. MORE
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Certainly one of the
most important success factors in business is
having a motivated workforce but what is it that
nurtures a motivational environment? Working
Knowledge of the Harvard Business School
maintains that most workers start their new job
enthusiastically but in 84% of companies studied
their morale dropped sharply in the first 6
months. This finding is based upon a survey
conducted between 2001 and 2004 of over 1.2
million workers by Sirota Survey Intelligence. The
study shows that workers have three key goals:
- Equity: Workers want to be treated fairly in
areas such as pay, benefits and job security.
- Achievement: They want to be proud of their
job accomplishments and of their employer.
- Camaradarie: Employees want a good,
productive relationship with fellow employees.
Maintaining that original motivation and
enthusiasm requires that management must meet all
three of these goals and they are not
interchangeable. Achieving one goal at the expense
of another doesn’t work. To learn what management
can do click MORE
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Retaliation claims are
becoming increasingly common. But can an employer
be held accountable for retaliatory harassment by
coworkers under Title VII? Apparently so,
according to a Third Circuit decision in Jensen
v. Potter authored by Judge Alito prior to his
joining the U.S. Supreme Court. Defendant had
claimed sexual harassment by a supervisor who was
then terminated following an investigation. This
was followed by what defendant called retaliatory
harassment by coworkers creating a hostile work
environment. The Court found that Title VII does
prohibit against harassment in retaliation for
making a discrimination claim and held that the
employer may be liable for the harassment by
coworkers if management knew or should have known
of it but took no action. MORE
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Gender
and Grooming
Standards
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Yes, it makes sense but
it is also legal. You can actually have
sex-differentiated grooming standards. The
continuing battle over grooming standards in the
workplace was again clarified by a recent decision
of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Jespersen v. Harrah’s Operating Company.
The Court ruled in favor of the defendant Harrah’s
noting that the requirements for female employees,
while different, were no more burdensome than
those for their male counterparts and therefore do
not violate the provisions of Title
VII. MORE
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Several high profile
claims of discrimination against customers have
hit the news recently requiring a new level of
consciousness on the part of management of
restaurants, hotels and other public
accommodations. The claims have generally come
under the Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
which prohibits a pattern of discrimination in
public accommodations based upon race, religion or
national origin. However, relief under Title II is
limited to injunctive action with no monetary
damages. Therefore, more recent cases have been
brought under federal statutes for making and
enforcing contracts or various state and local
laws that allow recovery of monetary awards. This
all reinforces the need for HR professionals in
these businesses and others to update their
employment manuals and employee training to
include policies and practices with respect to
customers. MORE
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 For the latest HR
news and analysis, CLICK
HERE or on the "HR Library" link above.
The site is updated daily to keep you informed on
the latest developments and how they might impact
your bottom line.
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Current
HR Economic
Indicators
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