Vigilant Blog

An employer didn’t violate the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it fired an employee on FMLA leave who had told a coworker that her husband had a “kill list” with her supervisor’s name on it, ruled a federal district court. The employee worked as a sleep technician in a hospital clinic that…

Employers should tread lightly when prohibiting gossip in the workplace. That’s the latest lesson from a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge in a ruling against a company’s no-gossip policy (Laurus Technical Institute, NLRB ALJ, Dec. 2013). It’s understandable that employers would want to keep a tight rein on gossip to protect against the…

But as an employer, you are liable for harassment between coworkers if you knew or should have known of the harassment. And, if a supervisor harasses a subordinate, the employer is automatically liable if any adverse employment action is taken against the subordinate employee. If there’s been no adverse employment action, then the company can…

Ever breathe a sigh of relief when certain employees depart? When you get a request for a reference from a potential employer regarding your ex-employee, you should carefully consider the information you share. That’s one of the lessons from a recent federal district court case alleging retaliation. The defendant in this case, Creative Business Solutions,…

For all of you dealing with some form of HR nightmare, take heart—someone always has it worse than you. Case in point: According to documents filed in a New York court, a love-addled former Wall Street employee who evidently doesn’t know the meaning of “no,” waged a one-sided war against the HR Manager of her…

A returning military servicemember has the right to be reemployed in the position they would have held if not for their military obligations, pursuant to the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), but those rights can become ambiguous when the company eliminates the employee’s position while he/she is gone. In a recent…

Employers may consider the underlying conduct that triggered an arrest when making employment decisions, said the assistant legal counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in an informal discussion letter. Making decisions based on arrests alone is problematic under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, because of the disparate impact on racial…

In recent years, many employers have encouraged employees to join LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites in order to connect with potential customers and increase public awareness of their company. But have you thought about the consequences when those individuals, who are connected to hundreds if not thousands of your customers, leads, and…

Once you’ve determined that you are a large employer that is subject to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility mandate, do you know who you must offer coverage to in order to avoid incurring penalties? This is the third installment in our series updating members on IRS guidance published early this year on…

Although you may be in a hurry to usher a departing employee out the door, beware of allowing an employee to sign a severance agreement before they’ve had time to really think about it. Under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), an employee who is at least 40 years old must be given…

If you are in the health care industry and you have a mandatory vaccination policy, you’ll want to read up on guidance recently issued by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explaining its position on whether you have an obligation to reasonably accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of contractors, outside vendors, volunteers and…

Getting a medical certification for a commercial drivers’ license will be tougher under a new regulation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The FMCSA will require medical examiners to meet strict qualification standards and complete extensive training to ensure they understand the physical and…