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Louis DiLorenzo

Can we demand employees fly, not drive, on trip?

09/07/2016
Q. One of our star employees wants to drive to an upcoming trade show instead of flying like everyone else. Can we insist that he must travel by air?

Can job ads request U.S. work authorization?

08/11/2016
Q. Our 40-employee company advertises for jobs internationally but we aren’t able to offer sponsorship to any candidate who is not legally able to work in the United States. I realize we can’t put “Prefer U.S. citizen” on a job ad, but can we alert candidates to our requirement?

Same worker, different work: Can pay rate change?

08/11/2016
Q. Is it legal to pay a nonexempt employee to work at a company event at a lower hourly rate than what we typically pay her? The event is a conference where staff would be answering questions and giving out information.

Must we ever pay for long commuting time?

08/11/2016
Q. An employee’s workday begins at a site location, which could be an hour or more from his home. There is no other “corporate office” location. It is my understanding that travel time to work (wherever that may be) is not compensable. Is that always true? What if that first work location is a long way from home?

Can a church ask about an applicant’s religious beliefs?

08/13/2015
Q. As a church employer, is it legal for us to request an applicant to state his or her religious beliefs, or to require them to be of our beliefs?

Listening to customer calls: Do we have to notify?

08/13/2015
Q. We plan to start having supervisors listen in on trainees’ phone conversations with customers. Do we have to inform the caller that we’re listening? We think the “this call may be recorded” message makes the call less authentic?

What are the legal risks of a 20% salary cut for all?

08/13/2015
Q. We have to reduce salary wages by 20%. The plan is to reduce three of the five departments to 32 hours and adjust their wages accordingly. Is this legal?

Can we circulate staff cell numbers and addresses?

08/13/2015
Q. We created an employee directory in Outlook that contains employee home numbers, cell numbers and addresses. It’s for internal use only. An employee complained. Is there any legal issue with us posting this information? Do we need to get permission from employees?

Employee on workers’ comp refuses to take a drug test: Is it legal to terminate him?

01/14/2015
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10 mistakes that crush your ability to win a retaliation lawsuit

12/22/2014

When employees complain internally about discrimination or lodge a complaint with an outside agency like the EEOC, they’ve en­gaged in what’s called “protected activity.” They may not be correct about the discrimination, but if the employer retaliated against an em­­ployee for complaining in the first place, they could win a large jury award anyway.