Contents

Articles at a Glance

Breaking News

Upcoming Events in Your State

Upcoming Annual Industry Events

Employment Law Update

Subscribe to Council's Employment Law Newsletters

HR Tips From the Trenches

Council's Web Tip of the Month

Articles at a Glance

Welcome to Council’s HR Watch for November/December 2004. In this issue you will find valuable information on:

• A new EEOC fact sheet on intellectual disabilities
• The 49% increase in Wage and Hour Division collections since 2001
• Why severance agreements that contain a waiver of rights to file an EEOC charge may be unlawful retaliation
• The legality of using subjective hiring/promotion criteria
• Whether the display of a Norman Rockwell painting creates a racially hostile work environment
• Using mentors to boost knowledge transfer
• One reason you should take a deep breath and reconsider before suing an employee

Breaking News top

EEOC Releases Fact Sheet on Employment Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities

The EEOC recently released a fact sheet on the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to persons with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. Read More

Wage and Hour Division Enforcement Efforts Net 49% Increase in Wages Recovered Since 2001

The Department of Labor recently announced that its Wage and Hour Division collected almost $197 million in back wages for fiscal year 2004. Read More.

Plan Ahead for Your 2005 Training! top

Council has the answers to your 2005 HR, employment law and workers' comp training needs.

Click here to download Council's New 2005 Comprehensive Training Catalog.

Upcoming Events in Your State top

Below are some of the seminars being held in your area! To find out more about upcoming seminars (including 2005 seminars) in your area and for full agenda information go to www.counciloned.com.

Upcoming Annual Industry Events top

As you make your plans for 2005 training and learning, be sure to put these events on your calendar!

Complete HR, National Forum & Exhibition
February 16-18, 2005
Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa
Palm Springs, CA

Employment law updates…Practical Solutions for Comp and Benefits…much more!

Complete HR, featuring the 3rd annual HR & The Law Forum, will provide you with the latest updates on employment law, benefits and compensation and business strategy – all tailored for you and your priorities as a busy HR professional!

Receive practical advice and answers to all your questions from the experiences, accomplishments and perspectives of leading organizations and law firms. Take away practical skills that will inspire you to successfully tackle your own HR challenges. Find out more; click here.

Focus Healthcare Benefits Forum
April 6-8, 2005
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
Chicago, IL

Are you struggling to find new ways to contain
health care spending?

Focus will provide you with the tools you need to create and implement a long-term cost-reduction plan. You will discover an array of proven tactics, presented by benefits executives who are using them successfully. Discover how organizations across the country are coping with rising costs and which innovative strategies have produced results. Find out more; click here.

Texas Workers’ Comp Update
September 21-23, 2005
The Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion
Dallas, TX

• New, better strategies for reducing medical costs of worker’s comp
• More sessions with top-notch workers’ comp executives
• Your best networking opportunity in 2005 - exchange ideas and best practices with your workers’ comp colleagues

If your priorities for 2005 include controlling the cost of workers’ comp for your organization in the troubled Texas workers’ comp system, click here to find out more.

California Workers’ Comp Forum 2005
November 2-4, 2005
The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
Palm Beach, CA

Impartial updates and proven solutions from attorneys, employers, and government agencies. The information you need to navigate the tumultuous CA workers’ comp system.

In 2004 over 400 of your colleagues in California heard from Senator Chuck Poochigian, Administrative Director of Workers’ Comp Andrea Lynn Hoch, plus over 30 sessions presented by leading employers and workers’ comp attorneys. If reducing workers’ comp costs is on your list of priorities in 2005, this is the can’t-miss event of the year. Find out more; click here.

Employment Law Update top

Court Finds Waiver of Right to File EEOC Charge in Exchange for Severance Pay Unlawful

A federal district court in Ohio has invalidated a provision in a separation agreement that required an employee to waive the right to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in exchange for severance payment, finding the provision to be unlawful retaliation. Read More

Use of Subjective Hiring Criteria Is Not Sufficient Evidence of Pretext to Overcome Employer’s Nondiscriminatory Reason for Decision

In Cook v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, the Fifth Circuit upheld an employer’s use of subjective employment criteria for promotion. Read More

Displaying Norman Rockwell Painting Does Not Create a Hostile Work Environment

Recently, in Williams v. County of Marin, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that displaying the Norman Rockwell painting The Problem We All Live With, that depicts an African American girl being escorted to school walking past a tomato-strewn wall that has the word nigger painted on it, did not create a hostile work environment. Read More

Subscribe to Council's Employment Law Newsletters top

Wondering how to protect yourself from employer liability for customer-initiated sexual harassment or exposure to workplace smoke? Find out more about these cases and others by requesting a FREE 3-month subscription to one of Council’s newsletters. Each newsletter is specifically tailored to provide you with “best practices” in today's highly complex legal environment and help you avoid employment law problems in your workplace. Click here for your free trial.

HR Tips From the Trenches top

Mentoring Relationships Boost Knowledge Transfer

In a complex, service-based economy, it’s hard for employees to learn all the things large and small that they need to know to be able to do their work effectively. One of the most powerful tools organizations have to facilitate the transfer of knowledge is through a formalized mentoring program. Mentoring is a powerful and cost-effective tool to assist employees in working smarter and more effectively. Read More

Council's Web Tip of the Month top

Take a Deep Breath Before Suing Former Employee

Some courts have determined that an employer facing a discrimination or similar charge by an employee may not file a lawsuit against that employee from the time the employee engages in her “protected activity” until the conclusion of the employee’s claim, because filing such a lawsuit constitutes retaliation, even though she may not be your employee anymore. Read More

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DISCLAIMER

The articles contained in this publication have been abridged from laws, court decisions and administrative rulings and should not be construed orrelied upon as legal advice. If you have questions concerning particular situations or specific legal issues, please contact your labor attorney.

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