Author: Washington Employment Law Letter

Increase diversity by recruiting, retaining people with disabilities

by Stephanie Holstein Having a diverse workforce includes hiring people with disabilities, which can create a positive and inclusive work environment, be good for the bottom line, and help bring down the high unemployment rates of people with disabilities. There are a number of best practices and helpful resources to make recruiting and retaining people […]

Responding to restroom accommodation requests from transgender employees

by Brian Bouchard Fifty-two years ago, Bob Dylan penned the now-famous lyrics “The times they are a-changin’.” True enough, Mr. Dylan, but for many, changes come slowly, and as the late David Bowie sang: “The days still seem the same.” This can be true in regard to laws, which sometimes struggle to keep pace with […]

Employer can insist that ‘doctor’s note’ come from a doctor

by Jennifer Suich Frank and Samuel D. Kerr Q One of our employees went to a holistic healer who isn’t a certified healthcare practitioner, and he advised her that she needs a week off work. He won’t write her a doctor’s excuse and will only speak to someone via telephone. Our attendance policy states that missing […]

Be careful what you say: Employee’s name-calling lands him in hot water

by Franck G. Wobst An Ohio Court of Appeals recently ruled that a city’s civil service commission acted within its rights when it suspended a city employee for 45 days for jokingly calling an African-American coworker “Black Buck” and “Big Black Buck.” Facts James Hoover worked at the city of Elyria’s water pumping plant as […]

Get ready to switch to another revised I-9

On July 17, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will release a new revision of Form I-9—Revision 07/17/17 N—to be used for employment eligibility verification. The new form is available on the USCIS’s website. Employers will need to use the new version of the form beginning September 18. Most of the changes will be minor, […]

My employee is accused of a work-related crime—what should I do?

by Andrea Moseley Last year, CareerBuilder found that 31 percent of employees don’t feel their workplace is well protected from a physical threat and 31 percent don’t feel their workplace is well protected from a digital hacking threat. Common sense dictates, and my experience representing corporate officials and employees confirms, that when people spend eight […]

Senate issues revised version of ACA repeal-and-replace bill

On July 13, the Senate released a revised version of its proposed Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal-and-replace bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. The Senate has yet to vote on the original version. The revised version of the bill includes a “consumer freedom” amendment to the ACA that would allow consumers […]

SSN

Employment verification nightmares: fake I-9s, bad Social Security numbers, and reverification catch-22

by Jacob M. Monty No one looks forward to an I-9 audit from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I-9s are notoriously problematic because not only does the law dictate which types of documents an employer may accept, but it also stipulates that employers cannot demand or refuse particular documents. In other words, if a […]

New media rating seeks to bring common sense to gender stereotyping

When my son was five and constantly arguing and negotiating for extra dessert or whatever it was that he wanted at any given time, people would often say, “You should be a lawyer!” His response was always: “I don’t want to be a lawyer because that’s a girl’s job.” While slightly humorous because lawyers are […]

Leader

Understanding CEO pay is a matter of perspective

by Dan Oswald You hear a lot today about CEO pay and how something needs to be done about it. That CEO compensation is out of hand. It’s spoken about as if it’s a wild, living creature that must somehow be tamed. I agree that executive pay seems completely unreasonable when you look at the […]