What changes have there been to Ohio law?
Effective July 2, Ohio employers with 50 employees or more are required to give two weeks of unpaid leave once each calendar year for the spouse, parent or custodian of a member of the armed services if that member is injured or is going to be deployed.
Under the Ohio Military Family Leave Act, the member of the military has to have been called up for active duty longer than 30 days or injured while serving in active duty, and the employee has to give 14 days notice of a deployment.
How has the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) changed under the Obama administration?
It has more money, and that means more resources to pursue claims. It has hired additional staff, additional investigators and attorneys, and it’s the job of those people to investigate and, if necessary, to prosecute claims against employers. That is resulting in increased scrutiny by the EEOC of companies.
Most investigations tend to arise from a complaint by an individual, but that individual complaint could be expanded to a class of people similarly situated or adversely affected by a company policy.
What steps can an employer take to protect itself from lawsuits?
An employer needs to have policies in place that are reviewed annually by an employment attorney. Go over the policies, talk about changes in the law — and not just the laws as they are written but about how they are implemented and applied.
It’s not enough just to have good policies; one of the most damning things that can happen in employment litigation is if a jury hears that the company didn’t follow its own policies.
Beyond having a handbook, your people have to work to know it, understand it and implement all its policies uniformly. And to do that, you need training. You need to practice and reaffirm what those policies are, and you need to understand them in the context of a changing workplace.
You really need to cultivate a partnership with external experts, such as employment lawyers, for policy reviews and management training seminars. And that is especially true right now. With the downturn in the economy, a lot of employers have neglected updating their policies and training, and that is dangerous.
Each person you lay off or fire or demote is a potential plaintiff. And if you haven’t been vigilant in your policies, in your training, or in educating your managers, each one of those people may have reason to sue you. A lawsuit may be based on a technicality, but it’s enough to get you into court and cause you to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending a claim that you shouldn’t have to defend.
John Susany is chair of the litigation and employment group at Stark & Knoll Co., L.P.A. Reach him at [email protected] or (330) 376-3300.
