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Employers who have less than 500 employees likely cannot terminate them for taking off work in order to care for their children. Currently, Ohio Schools are closed for business. Many parents do not have someone available to watch their children. Working parents for...
In 2014, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Labor to update the regulations defining which white collar workers are protected by the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime standards. On May 18, 2016, The Department of Labor has...
Almost always, severance agreements contain language that waives an employee’s right to file suit on Title VII claims and other employee discrimination statutes. Sometimes these agreements are also referred to as “separation agreements.” Thus, if you believe your employer may have terminated you for an unlawful purpose, you should likely not rush to sign that for two weeks of severance…
Yes. But a government employee’s 1st amendments rights are not necessarily absolute. “The First Amendment generally prohibits government officials from dismissing or demoting an employee because of the employee’s engagement in constitutionally protected political...
Unfortunately, sexual harassment still occurs in the workplace. This harassment may occur in the form of inappropriate comments, requests for sexual favors, inappropriate touching and other degrading acts on the basis of sex. In order for harassment to be actionable, the harassment must be severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. The harassment must create an abusive…
Religious institutions may receive exemption from Title VII under the “ministerial exception.” The United States Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects religious institutions’ decisions regarding their religious leaders. Hosanna-Tabor, 132 S.Ct. 694....
Different religions do not always conform to the same work schedule or attire. Employers may need to make accommodations to meet the religious needs of an employee. If an employer fails to make reasonable accommodations and punishes an employee for practicing his or her faith, the employer may be liable. In order to bring a successful claim for religious discrimination,…
The answer to this question is awkward. A memorized customer list is a trade secret if it is a trade secret. Confused yet? In 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court addressed whether memorized lists are trade secrets, and it determined that they are if the lists qualify as trade secrets under the statutory guidelines codified in the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets…
Both federal law and state law protects employees from discrimination. Federal laws include Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA to protect against discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin, age, and disability. Ohio’s ORC § 4112 protects the same classes. How do employees choose where to avail themselves? It depends where an employee works and when an…
Employees with disabilities may wonder what accommodations employers need to make for them. Unfortunately, the answer is not simple. Under federal law, an employer’s duty of reasonable accommodation is satisfied when the employer does what is necessary to enable the disabled worker to do the essential functions of his job with reasonable comfort. If there are two or more ways…