Roundup: AI and discrimination; Pregnancy discrimination; Termination and severance; Return to office; Administrative leave
Salary.com Compensation and Pay Equity Law Review
Welcome to Salary.com's Compensation and Pay Equity Law Review.
Our editor, employment lawyer Heather Bussing, is tracking legislation, cases, and analysis to give you the latest critical HR topics. She and Kent Plunkett, CEO of Salary.com, also have a new book out on Pay Equity, Get Pay Right: How to Achieve Pay Equity that Works !
This week we're answering the questions:
- Can we please ignore all the AI hype?
- Where does AI bias come from?
- Do I need to understand the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act or does it work like FMLA?
- Why should we offer severance when we terminate someone?
- Why is return to office so difficult for everyone?
- Should we put someone on administrative leave during an investigation?
Employment Discrimination is Illegal Regardless of Whether You Use AI
Even if you don't have a state law relating to AI and employment decisions, you still need to know whether your processes for making employment decisions results in discrimination. The way to do that is to look at the data.
Pregnancy at Work
A little compassion and kindness will get you a lot of the way toward compliance with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. But it's broader than you think and works differently than the ADA or FMLA.
Magic Words: Severance and Release
Severance and release agreements are the best way to handle almost any termination if the employer can afford to pay the severance. But in order to have the resolution be final, the agreement has to be valid in the states where both the employee and employer are.
Return to Office is Hard for Everyone
Return to Office is a big deal. There are some legal concerns. But mostly, if we need people back in the office, we also need to have some compassion for the changes we're asking them to make.
Investigating Administrative Leave
In considering administrative leave, first consider personal safety of everyone involved and the risk of harm to the organization. If there is even a decent chance of problems, it's better to put someone on paid administrative leave than risk additional harm..
