The use of medical marijuana has increased over the last few years. This increase has caused some shifting in a few different arenas, including employment.
An understanding of the law may help people prevent or fight discrimination from a current or potential employer. Employees should be aware of a few key aspects.
A previous post on this blog discussed how a workplace rule can in some cases be discriminatory. For instance, if the effect of the rule is to single out people of a certain religious persuasion, race, etc., then an employee who wound up being injured by the rule can seek compensation and other relief.
Unfortunately, though, proving discrimination can be a hard thing to prove. For example, in the case of a controversial workplace rule, an employer will usually be able to give some reason why their rules are important to workplace safety or the orderly operation of their business.
A recent story that attracted national news attention may be of interest to Rhode Island employees who feel that their employers impose rules and other practices that violate the moral and religious principles. After all, what might seem on the surface like a well-reasoned rule may, particularly if it is applied without any flexibility, be the grounds for a religious discrimination or other workplace discrimination claim.
In another state recently, the federal government sued a nursing home, alleging that the home had committed unlawful religious discrimination. Perhaps because it deals with sick, elderly patients, the home required all employees to get a flu vaccine. One employee objected, saying that doing so would violate her deeply held religious beliefs about the human body.
Although the law of Rhode Island requires employers in this state to pay employees the cash compensation to which the employer agreed, many employers choose to also offer other forms of compensation, the terms of which might not be so clear cut.
For example, as this blog has reported on previous occasions, many employers offer incoming executives stock options, generous retirement packages and other incentives to get them to come to work for the new employer, even if it means leaving a great position.
A Rhode Island lawmaker who herself was a victim of sexual harassment has introduced a legal measure that, if it passes, will form a group to review and study sexual harassment. Specifically, the group will examine both the most recent developments on the federal level as well as the laws and regulations of other states that are aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
The idea behind the group would be to come up with solutions that would improve this state's response to harassment in the workplace. Indeed, this is an important opportunity, in the wake of the #metoo movement, for this state to do key work to improve the conditions of the women who work in this state.
The gender wage gap refers to the difference in pay women and men receive. Despite having the same qualifications, positions and tasks, women tend to earn less money than men do. This discrepancy in payment is an example of gender discrimination in the workplace.
How prevalent is this practice and where does it happen the most? Forbes shared a study from PayScale that reveals the industries with the largest pay gaps between men and women. At the top of the list was finance and insurance, at just over 29 percent.
People usually hope that their work environments are peaceful and conducive to growth and advancement. Unfortunately, there may be some properties at work within the workplace that infringe upon an employee's rights.
This may fall under the classification for workplace bullying, and in such cases, it may be possible to seek rectification through a discrimination or harassment claim. When not addressed, such bullying can have a serious negative impact.
One fundamental tenant of this country's anti-discrimination laws is that an employee, whether in Rhode Island or elsewhere, has to feel free to report cases of discrimination when they see them. If they are afraid that doing so will cost them their jobs, then it is unlikely that discrimination will ever actually get reported or acted upon.
For this reason, laws protect those who report workplace discrimination from retaliation by their employer. What constitutes an activity that is "retaliation" is broad. It can include formal actions like getting fired or disciplined, and it can also include things that are less obvious like an unfavorable transfer or making changes to an employee's schedule.
Employees in Rhode Island might be confused about the concepts of severance pay versus separation pay or may think that they are one and the same.
In fact, though, there is a subtle distinction. In the case of a severance contract, the employee to whom it is being offered is going to lose his or her job. The severance package usually offers an employee lump sum payments and other rewards that might be more lucrative than unemployment compensation. In exchange, the employee will waive important rights, including the right to sue his or her employer in most cases.
Previous posts on this blog have explained how many employers in Rhode Island have to provide an unpaid leave for employees who are dealing with their own health condition or that of certain family members. This is pursuant to the Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, and it also applies to other situations.
There are two important basic concepts a worker needs to remember about the FMLA. First, the worker has to qualify for the leave, and this involves several important legal prerequisites. For instance, the worker has to have worked for a certain amount of time for an employer, and the employer itself has to be large enough to fall under the FMLA. Otherwise, if a worker needs leave for an illness, they can only hope in the good graces of their employer.
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