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The topic this month highlights record retention and cover what employers should be keeping and for how long.
Did you know that there are over 14,000 federal, state, and industry specific laws/standards/regulations that dictate how long employers are required to keep certain records? Non-compliance can result in fines against company employees personally as well as judgments against the company itself.
Some of the Federal Labor and Employment laws that require record retention include:
Please contact our office directly if you would like more information on this topic or if you would like more information regarding how to conduct an audit of your company record retention policies.
Imagine you are the Hiring Manager for a distribution warehouse and you are interviewing applicants for a materials handler position. The first candidate enters the room, standing at a height of 5’4”, weighing more than 500 pounds. You continue the interview and learn that he has high qualifications, but you can’t help considering how his weight may affect his work performance.
You anticipate that his obesity might put him at a greater risk of developing serious illnesses that may lead to absenteeism. You also consider that accommodations may be required for him to use the fork lift and other machinery, and you worry he may pose a safety threat if he were unable to move quickly enough to evacuate in the event of an emergency.
Based on these considerations, you decide not to hire this candidate. Was this proper or did you put too much emphasis on his obesity and risk liability? This is the question many business employers have had to face in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recent cases brought by the EEOC may shed light on whether severe obesity is a protectable disability, but the question still remains: when is obesity “severe” enough to constitute an ADA-protected disability?