Quirky Question #259, The FMLA and the ADA: Joined at the Hip

Question: I work in my company’s HR department and we just had an employee ask for additional time off, even though we’ve already given the employee a bunch of time off we are required to under the FMLA.  I wanted to say no but my co-worker here in HR says I have to grant the extra time off.  Who is right?

Quirky Question #258, Ex Pat Trailing Partners

Question: Fred, one of our technical IT specialists, just told us that his partner volunteered for a European assignment.   Fred’s a great guy and we need him but he earns less than his partner and wants the experience of working abroad.   If we don’t help him, Fred will probably look for overseas work with a competitor and he’s sure to...

NLRB Published Report Concerning Employee Handbook Rules and Policies

On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin published a Report concerning recent case developments arising in the context of employee handbook rules and policies. The thirty-page Report concludes that many commonly-used policies, if not phrased carefully, may have a chilling effect on Section 7 rights to engage in concerted activity. The policies critiqued by  General Counsel Griffin include,...

Supreme Court decides Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 575 U.S. ___ (2015)

The Supreme Court of the United States recently issued its decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc.  Vacating and remanding the Fourth Circuit’s decision, the Court concluded that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) “requires courts to consider the extent to which an employer’s policy treats pregnant workers less favorably than it treats nonpregnant workers similar in their ability or...

Quirky Question #257, Food for thought – whistleblowing claims against agricultural companies

Question: My company manufactures food products and is thus regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Last month, we terminated an employee because of his chronic poor performance. I just learned that the day before he was terminated, the employee told his supervisor that he believed our company was not complying with the FDA’s nutrition label requirements. Are we...

Quirky Question #256, Mandating vaccines for employees?

Question Between the flu and the current measles outbreak, we are considering imposing a requirement on each of our employees to get a flu vaccine each year and either get the MMR vaccine or provide proof that they have received it in the past.  We’re concerned not just about employee productivity, but also the health of all of our employees...

Quirky Question #253, Private arbitrations becoming not-so-private?

Quirky Question #253, Private arbitrations becoming not-so-private?

Question: I read with interest the answer to Quirky Question #248 about mandatory arbitration. You mentioned one of the benefits of arbitration being that is more private than a dispute in court, which is certainly a consideration for our company as we determine whether to implement this type of policy. Is that really the case, given the recent legislation I’ve...