Employment Law Potpourri
Lots of interesting posts recently in the world of employment law.....
Chris Moander of the Wisconsin Business Law and Litigation cautions Employee references are like ghosts -they can haunt you forever. He links to an article in the April 2008 issue of the Wisconsin Lawyer by Matthew L. Mac Kelly entitled Employer Liability for Employment References. According to the article, the four areas of potential liability employers face when responding to a reference check are:
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defamation
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invasion of privacy
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retaliation claims
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negligent refertal/failure to warn
The article explains how each of these problems might arise and provides some useful guidance for minimizing an employer's risk in providing reference information on former employees.
Jon Hyman of the Ohio Employer's Law Blog reports that EEOC settles landmark "cat's paw" discrimination case. As Jon explains, this case points up that employers can be held liable for adverse employment decisions made in reliance on information provided by a supervisor or other employee motivated by an impermissible bias such as racism. Â
Jon also has an interesting post Court vindicates employer who turned a blind eyeto a request for a reasonable acomodation about an Ohio Eighth Appellate District case Buboltz v. Residential Advantages, Inc. Although the employer successfully survived the charge it failed to provide reasonable accomodation to a blind employee, Jon believes that employers should not underestimate their continuing duty in this area.
Mike Hamblin over at the Michigan Business Lawyer Blog provides advice about What Should a Michigan Business Do If It Suspects One of Its Employees is Committing a Crime?
Dan Schwartz of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog provides a helpful reminder about the importance of notifying your insurance carrier early of employment liability claims if you are unfortunate enough to have events occur that might result in litigation.Â
