Employment Law

In an ideal world, an employer would evaluate candidates based solely on objective, measurable criteria without consideration of any matter not related to job performance. In reality, many other factors come into play – including biases that the hiring manager is wholly unaware he or she harbors. Although these unconscious biases are unintentional, they are abundant in the workplace –

I recently had the opportunity to speak to a group of small business owners about how to avoid common mistakes in dealing with employees, especially when it comes to termination. Although Ohio is an employment-at-will state, there are exceptions to this doctrine such as termination based on race, gender, disability or some other protected characteristic. An employer may also face

The appeal for an employer is that telemedicine services generally reduce benefit costs and increase convenience and access to care for group health plan participants. If you’re like most people, you don’t enjoy sitting in a doctor’s office with other coughing and sneezing people while waiting for your appointment, or wasting half a day just to get a prescription refilled.

While I regularly get calls from employees claiming to have been terminated for “whistleblowing,” I have found that most employees cannot meet the stringent requirements of the statute. The Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits employers from taking disciplinary or retaliatory action against an employee who reports criminal conduct. However, the act only applies to certain criminal violations and will only

Is the writing on the wall for an extension of Title VII protections to LGBTQ employees? In a recent landmark decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal court of appeals in the nation to rule sexual orientation claims are actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although not binding on courts (or

When an employer is hiring a new employee, it must engage in a balancing act between protecting the interests of its customers, with the rights of the prospective employee. Under Ohio law, an employer may be held liable under a theory of negligent hiring for injuries sustained by customers or other third parties for injuries caused by an employee who

According to a recent article in the New York Times, older employees, even those of retirement age, are staying in the workforce longer. Some are working longer out of necessity while others remain simply because of increased longevity. Whatever the cause for the trend, it is important to understand the laws that are in place to protect this older generation

On March 21, 2017, a new gun law went into effect in Ohio that expands the rights of concealed carry permit holders, allows active-duty members of the armed forces to carry weapons without a concealed carry license if certain conditions are met, and broadens the scope of places where those permit holders may carry their firearms. But what does this

Many people believe it is illegal to terminate an employee who missed work due to illness. While this may be true some of the time, it is not always the case. Only those employees who qualify under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) have job protection while off due to illness. Eligible employees have up to 12 weeks of