In most situations, employers have discretion when approving employee requests for time off, but there are some exceptions, such as when laws require employers to grant certain sick-leave requests.
Another exception is when the employee is asking for time off for religious reasons. In that situation, the employer is required to provide reasonable accommodation to the employee, unless the accommodation would cause an “undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”
Until recently, the threshold to prove undue hardship was “more than a de minimus” expense, but earlier this year, the US Supreme Court held that an employer must conduct an individualized assessment of a religious accommodation request and may deny it only if granting the accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the employer’s business operations.
The applicable federal law regarding time off for religious observances applies only to employers with 15 or more employees, but your state may have different rules. For example, in Oregon all employers (regardless of the number of employees) have specified legal obligations with regard to requests for time off for religious observances and practices.
Safety in Cold Weather
Although OSHA does not have specific regulations regarding employees who work in cold environments, employers are legally responsible for providing workers with both employment and workplaces that are free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm, including cold stress.
This means that employers with staff who work in the cold should ensure that workers are trained on how to prevent, recognize, and provide first aid for cold-stress illnesses and injuries such as hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot, and chilblains. When possible, employers should also provide “engineering controls” such as radiant heaters and shielded work areas to reduce wind chill.
In addition, employers should engage in safe work practices such as regularly providing warm sweetened liquids, scheduling work during warmer parts of the day, giving frequent breaks in warm areas, and assigning employees to work in pairs so they can monitor each other for signs of cold stress.
Finally, employees must be instructed to wear appropriate clothing. While employers are not required to pay for ordinary clothing (such as coats, hats, and gloves) that can be worn when not working, employers are required to provide any necessary specialized work equipment.
Quiet Firing
You’ve probably heard of “quiet quitting,” but you may not know that some employers are engaging in “quiet firing.” While the employer may feel it’s a smart move to try to make the job so distasteful that the employee will quit, this can be problematic.
In legal terminology, an employee quitting because working conditions are so poor that no reasonable person would stay is called “constructive discharge.” Legally, constructive discharge is treated virtually the same as firing the employee for purposes of unemployment benefits and wrongful termination claims.
Worse, though, is that constructively discharged employees may have claims in addition to the wrongful termination claims that might have been available if they’d been fired. Employees who have been constructively discharged may also have claims for the negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Sample Agreements for Domestic Workers
Do you employ – or do you plan to hire – a house cleaner, home-care worker, or nanny? The Women’s Bureau of the US Department of Labor has drafted sample employment agreements for these types of workers. The sample contracts are available for download at no charge.
While these agreements are no substitute for custom agreements prepared by attorneys, they may be a good option for some home employers, and they are certainly better than not having a written agreement at all.
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Whether you are an employee or an employer, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the above or any other employment-law issues.
For more information about employment law, see Employment Law (in Plain English)®, co-authored by members of this law firm.
The book is available through Skyhorse Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, and Bookshop (an online bookstore that allows you to support your favorite independently owned bookstore).
Photo by Fredrik Öhlander on Unsplash
