Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners. More details about the events and Human Resources 4U can be found on my website.

 

Miles Kimball Company Pays $95,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

The Miles Kimball Company, an Oshkosh, Wis.-based direct marketer of consumer gifts and household products, will pay $95,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

 

According to the EEOC's suit, while working in Miles Kimball's Information Technology Department in 2007, deaf employee Laura Nejedlo was assigned to use a new software program for the company's computer system, but was denied her requested accommodation of a sign language interpreter for training and so could not fully utilize the new program. In February 2008, Nejedlo was fired after 13 years of successful employment.

 

Denying an employee a reasonable accommodation and then firing her because of her disability violates the ADA. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

 

The consent decree settling the suit provides that Miles Kimball will pay Nejedlo $95,000 and prohibits future discrimination. Also, the company is required to train its managers and supervisors regarding an employer's obligations and the rights of employees under the ADA.

 

Family Dollar Settles Store Manager Overtime Claim

On September 12, 2012, Family Dollar announced that it will pay up to $14 million to settle a class action. Similar to other class actions filed against Family Dollar over the years, New York store managers claimed that the Company failed to pay them overtime. Although the agreement has not yet been finalized, the proposed settlement would affect more than 1,700 store managers in New York who are covered by the certified class.

 

Court rulings have been mixed as to whether store managers at discount retailers, such as Family Dollar, are exempt from overtime. Back in 2008, the Eleventh Circuit upheld a $35.6 million judgment in favor of Family Dollar Stores managers on the basis that those managers did not meet the executive exemption. Since then, court rulings addressing this issue have varied depending upon the facts of each case.

 

Each "misclassified employee" case must be reviewed based upon its own set of individual circumstances. Like all employers, Family Dollar likely looked at the facts and risks associated with further litigation and made a determination as to whether the settlement made sense. In any event, this case does not suggest that Family Dollar and other retailers cannot meet the executive exemption by demonstrating that management is the primary duty for its store managers in the future. At most, this is a reminder to employers that such a determination will always be based on the specific facts at issue and the individuals involved.

 

If you are unsure about how some of your employees are classified, I can assist you with an assessment.

 

Chemcore to Pay $30,000 to Settle EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

Chemcore Industries, Inc. and Chemcore Industries of Georgia, LLC, a wholesale supplier of sinks, faucets and related accessories to fabricators, plumbing suppliers and contractors, will pay $30,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC.

 

In its lawsuit, filed on Sept. 29, 2011 the EEOC charged that Chemcore fired Marie Simmons, a customer service representative, within several hours after she disclosed her pregnancy to her supervisor. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimin­ation Act (PDA), which prohibits employers from subjecting employees to discrimination due to pregnancy. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

 

In addition to the monetary relief, the consent decree settling the suit includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting of internal discrimination complaints, and posting of anti-discrimination notices. In the lawsuit and consent decree, Chemcore denied any liability or wrongdoing.

 

Factoids

Mental Illness

• About 217 million workdays are lost each year due to mental illness
• Workers with depression lose about 5.6 hours of productive work each week, Workers that are not depressed lose about 1.5. Depressed workers cost about $44 billion per year in lost productivity
• Absence, disability and lost productivity related to mental illness cost employers more than 4 times the cost of employee medical treatment.

 

2012 Health Insurance

• Cost for family $15,745, employee pays $4,316 up 4% from 2011
• Cost for employee only $5,615, employee pays $951 up 3% from 2011
• 2012 increases were a 6 year low, for 2013 the increase of health care premiums is projected to be 6.3%