Author: Arizona Employment Law Letter

To build or not to build? That’s the inclusion question

by Brad Federman Typically, an organization employs inclusion efforts because it notices there’s a morale issue within a certain group or within the organization as a whole, a legal challenge has been filed against the organization, or there has been an effort to organize a union. Unfortunately, many inclusion or diversity efforts fail because they […]

Different pay for unequal jobs OK

by Charles S. Plumb The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits sex-based discrimination in pay and benefits. Employers shouldn’t pay different wages to employees of the opposite sex for substantially equal work. “Substantially equal” work doesn’t mean identical work. It means substantially equal in terms of required skills, effort, and responsibilities.   An employer can […]

EEOC issues FY 2013 performance report

On December 16, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its fiscal year (FY) 2013 performance report, which indicates the agency is as busy as ever. According to the report, the EEOC received a total of 93,727 private-sector charges of discrimination in FY 2013, making it one of the top five fiscal years in […]

It’s frisky business avoiding the love-bug litigation

by Jasmin Rojas Roses are red Violets are blue, Cupid’s arrow at work May snag a  lawsuit for you. It’s February, the month of romance. Love (and perhaps a plethora of pheromones) permeates the air. No doubt that greeting cards and jewelry commercials contribute to a love sick contagion during this month. Guess what? Your […]

“You’ve got mail! And it just might be a warrant for your arrest”

You don’t have to try very hard these days to find employment law references in pop culture. Movies and TV shows examine issues of employment discrimination, politicians seem unable to resist the urge to text photos of their private parts to their disgusted subordinates, and professional athletes provide ample fodder for lawyers in desperate search […]

Are you using the correct forms to conduct background checks?

by Lisa Berg Under regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which replaced the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the enforcer of most provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), employers were required to begin using a revised “summary of rights” form for background checks as of January 1, 2013. It’s a […]

New regulations delay ACA’s ‘play or pay’ provision for some employers

In yet another unexpected turn in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Obama administration announced Monday that it is delaying the application of the law’s employer responsibility provision (also commonly referred to as the “play or pay” provision) for some small employers until 2016. The administration let the public know about the […]

Recognizing the Olympians in your workplace

by Dan Oswald While watching the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics, I was struck by the many similarities between a country’s Olympic team and a company’s employees. It might seem odd to draw that particular comparison, but let me explain and see if you also notice the correlation between the two. At the […]

Employee privacy in the accommodation process

By Keri Bennett We all know employees across Canada have an obligation to participate in the accommodation process. That extends to providing proper medical documentation. If an employee fails to provide such documentation, surely he or she could be disciplined. Not necessarily. Notwithstanding the employee’s obligation to participate in the accommodation process, an Ontario arbitrator […]

Is age just a number? Lessons from Jay Leno’s departure

I’m beginning to feel my age. Last night, a good friend celebrated a milestone birthday (I won’t say which milestone, but you can probably guess). His wife asked everyone to come in 1970s garb or as a character from the decade, so I went as J.R. Ewing. Our babysitter (born in 1995) had no idea […]