By Kevin Troutman, Fisher & Phillips   Employment disputes are stressful, disruptive, and expensive. This is especially true when they result in litigation. While disputes cannot be avoided entirely, employers can manage them in a way that reduces the likelihood of litigation. They also can implement effective measures to help reduce the costs of litigation and significantly improve the likelihood of favorable outcomes.   Some recent healthcare cases illustrate this point, showing how consistent practices...

BY Felix Digilov and Kevin Troutman, Fisher Phillips   In 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) revived its practice of issuing employers Employer Correction Request notices – also known as “no-match letters.” Over a half-million employers, including many in the healthcare industry, received no-match letters informing them that one or more of their 2018 employee W-2s contained names and Social Security numbers (SSN) that did not match the SSA’s records. These letters instructed employers to...

By Pamela Williams, Fisher Phillips, Houston   It has been estimated that healthcare employees are approximately four times more likely than workers in other fields to be victims of workplace violence. In 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued guidelines for preventing workplace violence in the healthcare and social services industries. Since that time, OSHA has heightened its focus on this area and has issued employer citations relating to incidents involving workplace violence....

By A. Kevin Troutman, Fisher Phillips After considerable controversy and years of waiting, the U.S. Department of Labor has finally released its revised proposed “overtime rule,” resolving some concerns and leaving other questions open. If adopted, the revised rule would set the minimum salary threshold for so-called white-collar exemptions at $679 per week, annualizing to $35,308 per year. Though substantially higher than the current $455 minimum weekly salary required to sustain an overtime exemption, the...

By A. Kevin Troutman, Fisher Phillips Employers’ anecdotal comments and practical experiences show that management of employee leaves is still one of the greatest challenges human resources and legal professionals face, especially in the healthcare industry. The 24/7 service demand and relatively short supply of qualified, available workers make this challenge even greater. A typical scenario involves the manager of a busy department, where the workload is heavy and two or more employees are on...

By Mauro Ramirez, Partner, Fisher Phillips Healthcare employers increasingly have become targeted by claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, an employer’s fundamental obligation is to provide “reasonable accommodations” to “qualified disabled employees” that enable them to perform the “essential functions of their jobs.” Each quoted phrase carries a specific and, often, seemingly complicated meaning. However, the key question remains simply stated: What must a healthcare employer do to accommodate an...

By Kevin Troutman, Partner, Fisher Phillips Litigation is a painful process, especially for defendants. The experience is costly, time-consuming, distracting, potentially-embarrassing and, of course, stressful. The legal department, human resources, participating supervisors and other witnesses all feel this pain to varying degrees. And this occurs even when you win. During employment litigation, personal accusations and strong feelings can make the litigation seem more like a nasty divorce than a business dispute. Allegations like sexual harassment,...