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Please Click HerePosted on May 24, 2007 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction encompasses Wisconsin, recently issued a decision under the Family and Medical Leave Act of importance for employers. In Burnett v. LFW, Inc., Case No. 06-1013 (12/26/06), a janitor filed a claim against his former employer, the Habitat Company, alleging the employer had violated the federal Family and […]
Posted on May 24, 2007 by Ruder Ware Alumni
For purposes of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee must have been employed by his or her employer for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12-month period to be eligible for FMLA leave. A federal Department of Labor (DOL) regulation (29 C.F.R. 825.110 (a)(1) […]
Posted on April 11, 2007 by Mary Ellen Schill
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) requires certain group health plans to provide enrollees with a notice of privacy practices. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires health plans remind individuals about this privacy notice no less frequently than every three years. A new notice may be sent to all enrollees, but HIPAA […]
Posted on January 26, 2007 by Sara J. Ackermann
On October 26, 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter regarding whether an Information (IT) Support Specialist qualified for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It found the position did not qualify. The Duties of the Position: The employer had described the duties of the position as follows: 55% […]
Posted on December 14, 2006 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The U.S. Department of Labor was expected to issue revised rules under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) . However, in lieu of doing so, the DOL recently published a request for information on FMLA in the Federal Register. The notice provides a (60) day comment period ending on February 2, 2007. Employers […]
Posted on December 7, 2006 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently held that leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act may be held against an employee in determining whether the employee can perform his essential function of attendance for purposes of an Americans with Disabilities Act claim. Payne v. […]
Posted on October 19, 2006 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 contains important provisions designed to encourage charitable contributions by individuals. At the same time, Congress was concerned about reining in what it perceives as abuses of the charitable contribution deduction, so the Pension Act contains a number of restrictions on your ability to obtain a deduction for donations of […]
Posted on October 11, 2006 by Sara J. Ackermann
On September 26, 2006, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals overturned the Labor and Industry Review Commission in deciding that an employee’s violation of a last chance agreement was sufficient to warrant a denial of unemployment benefits. Patrick Cudahy, Inc., v. Daryl Cross, 2005AP2074 (Wis. Ct. App. Sept. 26, 2006.) Facts of the Case: Daryl Cross […]
Posted on October 10, 2006 by Sara J. Ackermann
The issue of what duties and responsibilities an individual must perform in order to be considered a “supervisor” as defined by the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) has been in a state of flux for several years. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court criticized the Board’s interpretation of the section of the National Labor […]
Posted on October 4, 2006 by Ruder Ware Alumni
On February 28, 2006, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that lost profit damages are not an available remedy to a disappointed bidder for a municipal road construction project. The court determined that a disappointed bidder may recoup lost profits by properly enjoining a municipality from awarding a contract to another bidder and either recovering […]