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Nov 28 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationQ&A

Q&A: When does “creepy” cross the line into sexual harassment?

The Answer: Employers have a duty to investigate and take prompt action to address harassment in the workplace. In this instance, you have a report of behavior that could potentially create a hostile work environment, so it warrants some follow-up. Harassment investigations can mean something other than the formal process of taking witness statements, gathering…

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Nov 21 2017
DisabilityQ&ASafety and Health

Q&A: Accommodate for Questionable Religious Belief?

Answer: The answer depends on whether you can accommodate the employee’s religious belief, not on whether his belief is “correct” according to any particular interpretation. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to reasonably accommodate an applicant’s or employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, unless it would cause an undue hardship to the business….

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Nov 20 2017
DisabilityLeave LawsQ&A

What to do after an employee’s FMLA leave expires

Answer: Not so fast! When an employee takes leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for their own serious health condition, there are other issues to consider if the employee can’t return at the end of 12 weeks. Overlapping laws may prevent you from terminating the employee, such as the Americans with…

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Oct 16 2017
DisabilityEmployee BenefitsLeave Laws

Q&A: Offer equal amounts of paid parental leave to men and women

Answer: The short answer is no. If you provide paid parental leave for female employees, you must provide male employees the same benefit. Paid Parental Leave vs. Disability When contemplating providing paid leave for new parents, there are two sides you should consider: medical disability, and bonding with/caring for the child. Payments while a female…

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Oct 11 2017
Q&ASafety and HealthTermination & Resignation

Q&A: Termination after workplace injury may trigger workers’ comp retaliation claim

Answer: If you do, you’d better be absolutely certain of the safety violation and able to point to instances of other employees who were fired for similar violations even though they escaped injury. Otherwise, you risk a claim that you retaliated against the employee because of his on-the-job injury. You should also evaluate how an…

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Oct 09 2017
OregonQ&AVigilant News

OREGON: Common questions answered on recent legislation

Vigilant recently held a webinar covering 2017 legislation impacting Oregon employers with new overtime and maximum hour rules for manufacturers, predictive scheduling, amendments to Oregon’s sick leave law, and pay equity. We’ve received some great follow-up questions regarding the overtime and maximum hour rules for manufacturers, as well as questions about Oregon’s new pay equity…

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Sep 19 2017
Q&A

Q&A: Don’t make any employment changes in light of DACA rescission

Answer: No, instead you should follow your normal Form I-9 process of following up when existing work authorizations expire. DACA was created by President Obama through an executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant work permits for qualified people who entered the United States illegally as children. When DHS announced…

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Aug 28 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringQ&A

Q&A: Altering usual hiring process could lead to retaliation charge

Answer: It depends. It is illegal to retaliate against an applicant by not hiring the individual because she filed a prior discrimination claim against your company. You should go through your normal hiring process and determine the best candidate based on non-discriminatory factors. Depending on the job, you may want to consider experience, skills, ability,…

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Aug 11 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationQ&ATermination & Resignation

Q&A: Free speech has limits in private employment (fired Google engineer)

Answer: The constitutional right to free speech protects people from the government interfering with their speech, but it doesn’t insulate them from non-governmental consequences of that speech. So, government employees have free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution, but employees of private employers don’t have constitutional rights related to their employment. Private employers still have…

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Aug 08 2017
Q&AWage and Hour

Can employees volunteer to work?

A: While it might seem like you’re doing something for the employee’s benefit, and you don’t want to discourage initiative, these individuals should be paid for time spent learning how to use the equipment. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) you must pay employees if you “suffer or permit” them to perform tasks….

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Jul 18 2017
Privacy & ConfidentialityQ&A

Think twice before telling the truth about former employees

A: Not so fast! A signed release seems like a golden ticket to share your true feelings and frustrations about a former employee, but the release may not actually protect you. That’s what an Indiana medical clinic recently found out the hard way. In this situation, the clinic settled an EEOC claim with a former…

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Jul 13 2017
Labor RelationsQ&A

Employees wearing protest attire and using work email to stir the pot

A: Generally, no. Unfortunately for employers, the National Labor Relations Board, the agency tasked with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), has consistently decided that these activities are protected. The NLRA protects nonmanagement employees’ ability to unionize or band together to advance their common interests regarding wages, hours, and working conditions; exceptions are very…

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