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| The Supreme Court made it
easier for employees to prove they have suffered discrimination because of their age. In a 7-1
ruling, the court said that when older workers are disproportionately affected by an employment
decision, the employer bears the burden of explaining whether there was a reasonable explanation
other than age for the company's action. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-19) |
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| The body that enforces federal
laws prohibiting employment discrimination could experience mission failure if the agency does not
find a way to keep pace with its workload, the Government Accountability Office warns. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission has lost more than a quarter of its mission-critical staff since
2000, and since 2004, the EEOC's workload has grown by 10 percent. |
| (Source: FederalTimes.com,
2008-06-23) |
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| A federal appeals court
sharply limited the ability of employers to obtain e-mails and text messages sent by employees on
company-financed accounts. The text message portion of the ruling, issued by the U.S. 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals, will affect all employers who contract with an outside provider for messaging, as
most do. |
| (Source: Los Angeles Times (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-19) |
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| It's no secret that people
sneak in some personal e-mail and Web surfing when they're supposed to be working, but a new study
attempts to shatter perceptions that these Web surfers are just slackers trying to avoid work. In
fact, it turns out everyone does it, from senior managers to entry-level employees -- and
researchers figure that means management attempts to clamp down on Internet use may be missing the
mark. |
| (Source: USA Today (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-18) |
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| Despite recent challenges to
the economy, employers are managing to maintain a balance in employee benefits, according to the
2008 Employee Benefits Survey from the Society for Human Resource Management at its 60th Annual
Conference. Benefits that declined in 2008, such as health screening programs; stock options; paid
family, adoption, paternity leave; and legal assistance were balanced by benefits that have
increased in popularity this year, including allowing personal use of company-provided cell phones
and communication devices; on-site vaccinations; fitness center membership reimbursement or subsidy;
and Roth 401(k) savings plans. |
| (Source: Insurance Journal,
2008-06-23) |
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| A federal jury in Connecticut
ruled that an employer was at fault for not offering an employee his old job back after he returned
from two years of active duty in the Air Force Reserve. The jury concluded that the employer had
violated the worker's rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act,
or USERRA, which requires employers to reinstate an employee returning from a military tour to a job
that reflects the employee's previous salary, status and seniority. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-21) |
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| The Supreme Court agreed to
decide whether decades-old maternity leaves should count in determining pensions. The case before
the court involves four AT&T Corp. employees who each took at least one maternity leave between 1968
and 1976. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-23) |
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| Until now, employees who felt
wrongly deprived of benefits could expect little help in court unless they could show that their
plan administrators had behaved in an arbitrary, capricious or unprincipled way. Justice Stephen G.
Breyer, writing for the majority, eased that requirement, but stopped well short of setting out
specific new rules for when and how employees could challenge adverse benefits decisions. |
| (Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune,
2008-06-20) |
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| The percentage of employers
offering defined benefit pension plans and traditional indemnity health benefits is continuing to
erode, according to the Society for Human Resource Management's annual employee benefits survey.
Today, just 33 percent of employers offer defined benefit retirement plans, down from 40 percent in
2007, the survey found. |
| (Source: Financial Week, 2008-06-24) |
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| In their capacity as health
insurance providers, employers pay heavily for obesity's spread. Obesity accounted for 27 percent of
the rise in medical costs from 1987 to 2001, according to research by Kenneth Thorpe, a professor of
public health at Emory University, and three colleagues. Obesity costs companies $45 billion a year,
according to a report by the Conference Board and RTI International, a research institute. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2008-06-22) |
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| Chicken producer Sanderson
Farms Inc. said it will pay $2.6 million to former and current hourly workers that claimed the
company owed them compensation. The employees filed suit against Sanderson Farms claiming they were
entitled to compensation for time spent walking to and from their workstations and donning and
doffing protective gear. |
| (Source: BusinessWeek, 2008-06-23) |
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| A Morris County, N.J., jury
has returned a $10 million punitive damages verdict in an age discrimination suit against Avaya Inc.
of Basking Ridge, N.J. The verdict, believed to be a record in New Jersey in an age bias case, came
a day after the jury awarded $743,000 in compensatory damages to Nicholas Saffos of Yorktown
Heights, N.Y. |
| (Source: law.com, 2008-06-19) |
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| Ryan Poor |
No business wants to lay off employees. But, in tough economic times the belt occasionally
tightens. When that happens, how do you decide who is laid off? If you are smart, you
use some facially-neutral criteria based on your business needs, like performance or
seniority. Is that good enough? Maybe, but only if you are able to carry the burden of
proving that your criteria do not have an unfair impact on the basis of age.
Read the entire article on employee
layoffs.
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OSHA's "Hit" List
OSHA notified 14,000 workplaces in the United States that they had excessive injuries, defined
as 5.4 or more lost or restricted work days (DARTs) per 100 employees. If you receive such a
letter, your worker's compensation premiums are probably out of control. The attorneys at Ice
Miller are available to help you determine the best course of action.
Please contact Ann
Stewart if you have any worker's comp questions.
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