Reducing the Risks of Employment Lawsuits

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Reducing the Risks of Employment Lawsuits
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Laws . Laws . Laws .

• Federal Civil Rights
• Federal Wage and Hour
• Federal Employment
• State Employment

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• Federal
• Civil Rights
• Laws

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Prohibits discrimination in employment based on
  race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.
• Two types of discrimination cases
• Disparate Treatment Cases
• Disparate Impact Cases

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Age Discrimination in Employment Act

• Prohibits discrimination in employment based on
  age
• Protected class consists of people 40 years and
  older

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Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
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• Employers cannot discriminate in employment based
  on pregnancy related conditions
• Cannot refuse to hire applicants because they are
  pregnant
• Cannot fire employees because they become
  pregnant
• Employers must treat pregnancy as any other
  illness or disability
• Same reemployment rights as other employees that
  go on leaves of absence for other disabilities or
  illnesses

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FMLAFamily and Medical Leave Act
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Employers are required to provide eligible
employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per
year for

• birth, adoption or placement of a child or care
  for the same
• serious health condition for spouse, parents
  or children.

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FMLA

• Covered employee
• 12 month period
• Can take PTO and EDL during
• Must complete form to request
• Tracking absences
• Define serious health condition

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Americans with Disabilities Act

• Employers may not discriminate against a
  qualified individual with a disability in
  recruitment, advertising, job applicant
  procedures, hiring, upgrading, promoting,
  seniority, demotion, transfer, layoff,
  termination, return from layoff, rehiring, pay,
  job assignments, leaves of absence, sick leave,
  selection for training, etc.

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ADA

• Who is considered disabled?
• What does the law provide?
• Employer may not discriminate
• Employers must make reasonable accommodations as
  long as it does not cause an undue hardship
• What you can/cannot ask

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• Federal
• Wage Hour
• Laws

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Fair Labor Standards Act

• Minimum Wage Provisions
• Overtime Provisions

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Exceptions Exempt Employees

• Executive
• Administrative
• Learned Professional
• Creative Professional
• Computer Professional
• Outside Sales
• Highly Compensated Employee

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Equal Pay Act

• Prohibits paying lower wages to employees of one
  sex than are paid to employees of another sex for
  equal work
• Four factors taken into consideration
• 1. Skill
• 2. Effort
• 3. Responsibility
• 4. Similar working conditions

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Common Wage Hour FAQs

• Can employees be required to work overtime?
• Can you require lunch/rest breaks? Does the law
  require them?
• How should time cards be handled?

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Common overtime mistakes

• Allowing non-exempt employees to begin or end
  work before or after their assigned hours
• Allowing non-exempt employees to work through
  their lunch breaks
• Allowing non-exempt employees to take work home
• Counting PTO as work time
• Docking salaried exempt employees for partial day
  absences

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Employee or Independent Contractor?

• Factors to consider
• Behavioral control
• Financial control
• Definition of Relationship

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Other Federal Employment Laws

• Immigration Reform and Control Act
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• FACTA
• USERRA
• Jury System Improvement Act
• National Labor Relations Act
• Polygraph Protection Act
• WARN
• Drug Free Workplace Act of 1989
• COBRA
• HIPAA

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CRITICAL Legal Issues Facing Management

• Employment-At-Will
• Wrongful Discharge
• Harassment
• Document Document Document Document
  Document

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Recruiting and Hiring

• The Hiring Process
• Legally Recruiting Quality Candidates
• Legal Problems in Interviewing
• Rejecting Unsuitable Applicants
• Reference Checking
• Pre-Employment Testing
• Document Document Document Document
  Document Document

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Managing Employees Legally

• Establishing Job Standards
• Job Descriptions
• Job Assignments and the Law
• Dealing with Performance Problems
• Document Document Document Document
  Document

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Performance Reviews

• When performance reviews cause legal problems
• How to reduce vulnerability
• Biggest DANGER not being honest with the
  employee
• Document Document Document Document
  Document

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Dress Codes

• What we can require/prohibit
• What can cause problems

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Regarding Employee

• Right to Privacy
• Searches
• Telephone Calls
• Cell-phone Policies
• E-mail
• Internet use

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Disciplinary Procedures and the Law

• Two conditions necessary to be effective
• Tell them WHAT you expect
• Tell them WHY you expect it

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Discipline Procedure

• Friendly Warning
• Verbal Warning
• 1st Written Warning
• 2nd Written Warning (if applicable)
• Termination (if applicable)
• Document Document Document Document
  Document

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Legally Terminating Employees

• Resignation or discharge?
• The truth about firing
• Firing poor performers raises morale
• Dont feel bad

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• Checklist For Lawful Terminations
• Was there a written rule or regulation?
• Was the employee informed of it?
• Was the rule administered fairly and
  consistently?
• Do you have adequate written documentation?
• Have you thoroughly investigated the facts?
• Has the employee been presented with an
  opportunity to present their side of the story?

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Ask Yourself

• Is it fair?
• Would it seem fair to a judge?

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Unemployment Claims

• What is the impact on the agency?
• Who is eligible?
• What is the process?
• If you have done it right, you are now VERY
  happy!

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• Questions?
• Mary A. Flores
• VP of HR for BBBSNT
• Wk. 817.277.1148 ext. 242
• Cell 214.288.3678
• mflores_at_bbbsnt.org