Southwest Florida Employment Law Blog

EEOC Releases New Guidance on Use of Criminal Background Checks

Suzanne M. Boy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:37:43 -0500

Yesterday, the EEOC issued a new Enforcement Guidance on use of arrest and conviction records in hiring decisions. Among other things, the Guidance addresses best practices for employers who use criminal background information in hiring decisions. The Guidance has already been...

The Saga Continues: NLRB Poster Requirement On Hold

Suzanne M. Boy — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:34:01 -0500

The past few days have not been pretty for the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") and its controversial Notice of Employee Rights poster requirement. Last Friday, a South Carolina federal district court found the proposed notice-posting rule invalid. Today, the DC...

Five New Hire Suggestions for your HR Easter Basket

John Agnew — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:08:17 -0500

I grew up celebrating Easter, but when I was young, I never cared much for the goodies I discovered in my Sunday morning Easter basket. My brother, on the other hand, always didhe was more than happy to eat his hollow chocolate bunny, dozens of Marshmallow Peeps (both his and mine), and all...

A Note to Subscribers

Suzanne M. Boy — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:26:23 -0500

We are currently working on a switch to a new feed management platform Aweber, from our current platform, Feedburner. Aweber will, among other things, allow us to get email notifications of blog posts out to you immediately, instead of the morning following the post. This switch will...

20th Anniversary HR Law & Solutions a Great Success!

Suzanne M. Boy — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:46:28 -0500

Yesterday, Henderson Franklin's Employment Law Practice Group hosted the 20th Anniversary of its HR Law & Solutions seminar at Sanibel Harbour Resort. The seminar was a great success! Over 300 attendees heard presentations on a variety of law topics, including retaliation, workers'...

Revisiting Race: Supreme Court to Reconsider Affirmative Action

Robert Shearman — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:03:03 -0500

For years, college admissions officers were on safe ground when considering race as a factor in their admissions programs to promote class diversity. This may change now that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin. In Fisher, Plaintiff Abigail...

HR Law & Solutions 20th Anniversary: Will You Be #300?

Suzanne M. Boy — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:03:50 -0500

Preparation for the 20th Anniversary HR Law & Solutions seminar is well under way, and we have reached record numbers -- with nearly a month to go! As of this post, we have 295 attendees registered. The good news is that we've secured additional space, so we can continue...

Linguistic Challenges in the Workplace

John F. Potanovic — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 07:55:06 -0500

Title VII, and comparable state laws, like the Florida Civil Rights Act, prohibit employer actions that have the purpose or effect of discriminating against persons because of their national origin. It is no secret that U.S. work forces are becoming increasingly more diverse. In response to the...

A Potential Valentine's Day Equation: flowers + chocolates = sexual harassment

John Agnew — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:17:25 -0500

As a guy, I prefer barbecue-type holidays, such as Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, over Valentine's Day. As employers, you probably should, too, even if it is for different reasons. A CareerBuilder survey published in 2011 found approximately 40% of workers have dated at least one person...

HR Law & Solutions 20th Anniversary: Registration Now Open!

Suzanne M. Boy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:26:27 -0500

I am excited to announce we have just opened registration for the 20th Anniversary of our HR Law & Solutions Seminar! The seminar is March 27 at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. Topics and speakers include: Employment Law and Legislative Update presented by...

Hiring again? Check Out 5 Questions to Ask Job Candidates in 2012

Suzanne M. Boy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:54:09 -0500

Is hiring back on at your company? I hope so! With unemployment in Southwest Florida at its lowest level in three years, and with the economy showing signs of life, I wanted to take a minute to highlight an article on hiring I read in this month's Gulfshore Business. In Hiring...

Supreme Court Recognizes "Ministerial Exception" as Bar to Employment Discrimination Claims

Vicki Sproat — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:07:12 -0500

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion expressly recognizing "a ministerial exception," which bars "ministers" employed by faith based employers from suing for discrimination. In Hosanna-Tabor Church v. EEOC, the Supreme Court...

Insured by Smith & Wesson: Revisiting Workplace Violence Issues

Suzanne M. Boy — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:18:40 -0500

A couple of events prompted this post. First, as I was driving to work last week, I saw a car sporting an "Insured by Smith & Wesson" bumper sticker. Perhaps this will officially out me as an employment law nerd, but, being that it was on a vehicle, this bumper...

Save the Date! HR Law & Solutions 20th Anniversary is March 27, 2012

Suzanne M. Boy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:44:53 -0500

Henderson Franklin is so excited to announce the 20th Annual HR Law & Solutions seminar will take place March 27, 2012 at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we have several great topics planned, we are bringing back the hilarious Sean Carter, and we...

Reminder: Florida's Minimum Wage Increases Today!

Suzanne M. Boy — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:56:47 -0500

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2012? Employees who make minimum wage can ring in 2012 by celebrating their 36-cent per hour raise. That's right, as we told you back in November, Florida's minimum wage increased to $7.67, effective today. The minimum wage for tipped...

Florida's Minimum Wage Set to Increase in 2012

Suzanne M. Boy — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:43:43 -0500

Florida's minimum wage is set to increase to $7.67 starting January 1, 2012. This 36-cent increase follows on the heels of a 6-cent increase (to $7.31) set in June 2011. The minimum wage for tipped employees will also rise 36-cents in the new year, from $4.29 to $4.65. Employers should...

NLRB Postpones Notice Requirement

Suzanne M. Boy — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:36:15 -0500

As of today, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") reversed course on its new notice requirement, which I have discussed in prior posts (here and here). The NLRB has pushed the posting requirement back to January 31, 2012 to allow for "enhanced education" and...

NLRA Poster Now Available

Suzanne M. Boy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:34:00 -0500

In follow up to my post on the new NLRA Employee Rights Notice requirement, the NLRB has released the official poster on its website. Click here to download a copy. The posting requirement is effective beginning November 14, 2011. Remember, this applies to most private employer,...

Miss Blu's Workplace Policy #104: Texting Policy

Suzanne M. Boy — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:06:00 -0500

*Note to readers: We've had multiple requests to bring back Miss Blu, so here we go! From now on we will feature a Miss Blu Employee Handbook Policy every other month. For those of you who have asked, I am not Miss Blu. As her bio states, Miss Blu is the alter...

New NLRA Notice Requirement for Employers

Suzanne M. Boy — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:48:23 -0500

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board issued a Final Rule requiring employers to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The Final Rule, entitled "Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act,...