Quirky Questions

Real Life Employment Law

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A New Question Every Week

Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.

This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.

We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.

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Category: Employee Handbook / Policies

Quirky Question #270: A Win for Wellness Plans

Quirky Question #270: A Win for Wellness Plans

 

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Question: Our company offers employees a self-funded and self-insured health plan. We’d now like to implement a wellness program.  Can we require employees to complete a health risk assessment which requests personal medical information before they are eligible to participate in the health plan?  I’ve heard that asking for employee medical information, even if it’s pursuant to a wellness program,...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Disability Discrimination, Employee Handbook / Policies, Health Care Industry Group, Wellness and Benefits

Quirky Question #268: E-Sign Away!

 

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Question: We have our electronic handbook and arbitration agreement online, and all employees sign both electronically.  I saw a news blurb that a California court last year refused to enforce an arbitration agreement that was electronically signed.  Can’t we use electronic signatures in California?

POSTED IN Banking Industry Group, Class and Collective Actions, Employee Handbook / Policies, Litigation Issues, Wage and Hour Issues

Quirky Question #267: An Equine Accommodation?

 

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Question: Our employee regularly uses a service dog in our office, which helps him with stability and maintaining balance around the office, which can be challenging for him due to several medical conditions he has. However, yesterday he came in and said he would like to use a miniature horse as a service animal instead of the dog, because it...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Disability Discrimination, Employee Handbook / Policies, Health Care Industry Group, P3D Industry Group

Quirky Question #257, Food for thought – whistleblowing claims against agricultural companies

 

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Question: My company manufactures food products and is thus regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Last month, we terminated an employee because of his chronic poor performance. I just learned that the day before he was terminated, the employee told his supervisor that he believed our company was not complying with the FDA’s nutrition label requirements. Are we...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Employee Handbook / Policies, Retaliation

Quirky Question #256, Mandating vaccines for employees?

 

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Question Between the flu and the current measles outbreak, we are considering imposing a requirement on each of our employees to get a flu vaccine each year and either get the MMR vaccine or provide proof that they have received it in the past.  We’re concerned not just about employee productivity, but also the health of all of our employees...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Employee Handbook / Policies
Quirky Question #246, iKnow where your iPad is

Quirky Question #246, iKnow where your iPad is

 

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Question: Our California company intends to provide iPads to all of our sales employees, but to make sure we can locate the iPads if they are lost or stolen, we plan to use the iPads’ GPS capabilities to track their locations.  As an added bonus, we’ll also be able to track the sales employees themselves.  Any concerns with this plan?

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions, Common Law Claims, Criminal Conduct, Employee Handbook / Policies
Quirky Question #244, An Update on Ebola

Quirky Question #244, An Update on Ebola

 

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In Quirky Question #244, we discussed what employers should do to protect their employees and businesses in light of the potential Ebola threat.  Last week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered nearly 700 Minnesota National Guard members to deploy to Liberia this spring to help fight the Ebola epidemic. The citizen-soldiers are scheduled to start training in March with an estimated six-month...

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Disability Discrimination, Employee Handbook / Policies, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)