Below is a review of the posts (on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) from the past week. You can check out the full posts by clicking on the links.
In the post on Sunday 6/9/19 we saw that McDonald’s workers strike and sue over sexual harassment. Ronald is probably not happy. What? Dozens of female employees filed gender discrimination complaints and cashiers and cooks planned to strike, all before the company’s annual meeting. 25 women in 20 cities filed with the EEOC; some can now go to court. One employee recently quit; she said that she and her teenage daughter, who worked at the same restaurant, suffered as noted in the post. And how does the company respond? See the post (hint; deflection).
TAKEAWAY: Even if your (in)action was legal, the court of public opinion may still find you guilty. Know how to control all aspects of adverse (in)action.
The post on Monday 6/10/19 was about a woman who owed her former employer due to leaving while on maternity leave. Yep. So what happened? Emily did not have paid maternity leave at her job, so she took an unpaid FMLA leave. During the leave, she received another job offer. She accepted and gave notice to her current employer. It then sent her the correspondence noted in the post. And the timing: NOW! What she did after that is in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Both employees and employer should know their respective rights and possible obligations under the FMLA – meet with an employment lawyer to be sure and so you are not surprised in the future.
The post on Tuesday 6/11/19 talked about when it’s time to evict an owner or tenant from a Unit in a Condo or Homeowners’ Association. Yes, it happens. It’s not nice, but it happens, usually because assessments have not been paid. When it’s an owner, the process is often similar to that in the post, but depends on the Association’s Governing Documents and applicable state law. As to a tenant, it could be easier, but again it depends on the Governing Documents. Concerns and possible issues are in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Board members and owners alike should know what the Governing Documents provide as to eviction form a unit; an experienced community lawyer should also be brought in.
The post on Wednesday 6/12/19 told us about paying non-exempt employees for voluntary charitable activities. Everyone needs to read this. The US Department of Labor recently issued an Opinion Letter dealing with wage and hour compliance relative to corporate volunteer campaigns. What did it say? That non-exempt employees who volunteer time outside of normal work hours need not be paid as long as the conditions in the post are met. How the employer can achieve this is also in the post. This issue arose as an interpretation of the FLSA relative to a bonus. The Opinion Letter also set forth how to know it qualifies as charitable work (in the post).
TAKEAWAY: Having your employees volunteering and out and about in the community is great press for your company – but make sure it’s done right or you may need to pay them for their time.
In the post on Thursday 6/13/19 we saw the EEOC sued GRK Fresh Greek for sexual harassment. Ugh, just ugh. Why ugh? GRK Fresh Greek is a chain of 4 restaurants. It allegedly subjected female employees to groping, grinding, and lascivious comments. What did the district manager supposedly do in addition to touching female employees’ breasts and buttocks? See the post. As if that wasn’t enough, he also (allegedly) told one employee that she would make a good stripper and that he’d like to sleep with her and made the other comments in the post. More? The employees told him to stop, but he laughed and continued. When they complained to other managers, what happened is in the post. The EEOC filed suit on their behalf.
TAKEAWAY: Make sure your employees don’t harass or discriminate against other employees, and when you get a complaint, make sure to investigate and take appropriate action.
The post on Friday 6/14/19 showed that an accommodation request did not ‘immunize’ worker from termination. Here, a university employee, Smith, received several poor performance reviews and 2 warnings. She then made an ADA accommodation request. After that, her performance was as noted in the post. She was fired and brought suit. How and why the federal appellate court (which has jurisdiction over PA cases) ruled is in the post – and makes sense. Other federal appellate courts have held similarly in other cases examined in the post.
TAKEAWAY: Employers may take adverse action against employees for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons, but when it follows a protected activity, it can result in an inference that it was a response to the protected activity; be smart and careful.
Finally, in the post yesterday 6/15/19, we asked: You just discovered you hired a sex offender, now what? What should you do and what must you do? The answer depend … in large part on any applicable state law. All states have sex offender (Megan’s Law) registries. Some bar an employer from using that information for employment purposes; others do not. Then there’s also federal law, The EEOC has weighed in with the publication noted in the post and by prohibiting a blanket rule against anyone with a criminal history; instead, the employer must do as in the post. So what if you do hire the person? You as the employer might have liability on several bases noted in the post if s/he commits a sex crime while on the clock. So, it depends ….
TAKEAWAY: Before making a decision to not hire or to fire the person, discuss the legal implications with an employment lawyer so that you know your possible risk depending on the action taken.
York, Pennsylvania 17403