July, 2009

FMLA Does Not Obviate Failure to Notify, Court Says

An employee who missed an employer-mandated drug test after he injured his back the night before cannot claim interference with or retaliation for exercising his Family and Medical Leave Act rights because he failed to inform his employer that the injury meant he would miss the test, the 6th U.

Making Wellness Work: Changing Company Culture While Controlling Costs

As the battle to manage health care costs clashes with the popularity of wellness, employers are often at odds at what to do. Toss in doubts about company cultural change and it may not be a surprise that wellness programs are under-invested.

House Committee Approves Executive Pay Restrictions

A House committee approved a bill July 28 that would put new restrictions on corporate executive pay practices.

H. R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009, won approval on a 40-28 party-line vote in the House Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Rep.

Court: Bankruptcy Does Not Void Personal Liability

Bankruptcy does not shield managers from personal liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal appeals court has ruled.

 
The defendants in the case Boucher v. Shaw -- who included the chairman, CEO and CFO of a hotel-casino -- had claimed that any duty they had to pay wages to employees ended when the hotels that employed them all entered into liquidation bankruptcy.

7th Cir. Requires FLSA Retaliation Claims Be in Writing; U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case

Employees who complain orally about employer violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), rather than complaining in writing, are not protected from being fired or other forms of retaliation, the 7th U.

Arbitration Agreement Doesn't Cover Discrimination Claims, Mass. Supreme Court Holds

The former chief of anesthesiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is not required to arbitrate her statutory claims of employment discrimination, because those claims do not fall within the scope of the arbitration clause contained in her employment agreement, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held on July 27.

What To Do With Surplus DB Assets?

Over the last several years, during a declining economy, employers have sought ways to reduce or eliminate the costs associated with providing employee benefits. Some employers opted to reduce these costs by taking the steps necessary to terminate their defined benefit (DB) plans.

Layoffs Leave Companies Asking Where 50-Employee Threshold Lies

A brutal year of layoffs has raised questions among a group of employers that are at the threshold of being covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act.

An employer must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a 12-month period if it has 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year (29 C.

5th Circuit: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is Qualifying Disability

Individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome can be protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act, the 5th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. An employee provided enough evidence that her CFS substantially limited her in the major life activities of caring for herself, sleeping and thinking to warrant a jury trial.

First Fine Issued Under Stricter Child Labor Laws

A Georgia-based demolition company was recently fined $50,000 for child labor violations that resulted in the death of a teenage worker.

The penalty was the first one assessed by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) under stiffer new child labor standards enacted last year — and is a sign of the agency’s recent efforts to strengthen its enforcement of federal laws.