Category Archives: Social Media

Employer Will Pay $50,000 to Settle EEOC’s First GINA Lawsuit

An Oklahoma employer will pay $50,000 to settle the first lawsuit the federal government filed to enforce the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The case, Civil Case No.: 13-CV-248-CVE-PJC, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of…

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Employer Violated NLRA by Firing Workers for Facebook Postings

Clothing retailer Bettie Page must reinstate three terminated employees with back pay and rescind an unlawful handbook rule, said the National Labor Relations Board in affirming a lower court’s finding that the employer violated several provisions of the National Labor…

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Questions and Answers on Reform’s Transitional Reinsurance Fee

Employers are understandably nervous about the transitional reinsurance fee, which health insurers and employer health plans must pay from 2014 through 2016. The fee will be collected by HHS, even though the states will tailor their own risk adjustment programs….

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Key Wage-and-hour Language to Have in Your Employee Handbook

To prevent the consequences from imprecise employee handbook language,  employers should regularly review their handbooks and written policies. Since wage and hour lawsuits make up a significant part of  litigation, W&H provisions can make a difference as you draft or…

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EEOC’s Confidentiality Requirements Are Too Strict, Court Says

Federal guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act states that all employee medical information must be kept confidential, but that goes above and beyond what the statute requires, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 20. Despite what…

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Facebook Photos of Employee at Festival Suggest FMLA Abuse, Court Finds

Employees are learning the hard way that anything they say or post via online social network sites can and will be used against them in a court of law. This includes incriminating photographs that catch them in the act of…

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NLRB Gives Big-box Retailer Bad News About Social Media Policy

In recently finding that the social media policy of Costco Wholesale Corp. violated federal labor law, the National Labor Relations Board took its scrutiny of such employer policies to the next level: This the first time that the full board…

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6th Cir. Allows Bus Driver Trainee’s ADA Suit to Continue

To bring a discrimination claim, a trainee with a disability needs only show that she was qualified to participate in the job training; she doesn’t need to prove that she was qualified for prospective job, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court…

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Montana on Obesity: No Underlying Condition Necessary to Prove a Disability

With Daniel Cafaro Montana has joined the obesity debate, determining in a recent case that being severely overweight, even with no underlying medical condition, can be a disability protected by state law. In BNSF Railway Co. v. Feit (No. OP…

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Reporting Businesses FLSA Violations Is Now Just a Smartphone App Away

Business owners should be aware that customers typing away on their smartphones might actually be reporting FLSA violations to the U.S. Department of Labor. DOL’s recently created smartphone app, “Eat Shop Sleep,” allows users to search for places to eat,…

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