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Insurance

Outside complaint can be misconduct, meaning no unemployment

09/01/2007

Employees who break company rules can be fired for misconduct and aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation. But what if the “misconduct” involves taking a complaint outside the company? If your policy clearly states that complaints should be raised internally first, then you probably won’t have to pay unemployment for employees who are fired because they ignored your rule …

Caterpillar sues UAW over retiree health benefits suits

09/01/2007

Caterpillar Inc. has filed lawsuits to force the United Auto Workers (UAW) to pay for health care for retirees as agreed in union-negotiated contracts. Caterpillar says the UAW is backing two class-action lawsuits seeking free lifetime coverage for retirees and spouses, which the company says violates collective-bargaining agreements …

Employers, employees affected as Illinois adopts smoking ban

09/01/2007

Citing the toxicity of secondhand smoke, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed Senate Bill 500, the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, into law on July 23.  The law takes effect Jan. 1 and requires employers to provide smoke-free workplaces for all employees. The new state law does not mean employers can ignore local anti-smoking ordinances. Municipalities may still enact smoking bans that are tougher than state law, but all Illinois jurisdictions must meet the new state standards when the law takes effect …

No workers’ compensation when employee wouldn’t have been working anyway

09/01/2007

Employees injured at work are entitled to wage-loss payments while they recuperate. But they don’t get payments for the times when they wouldn’t normally have been earning wages …

Hinting employee should quit and offering severance? He still gets unemployment

09/01/2007

If you tell an employee you think it’s time for him or her to leave and offer a severance package as an inducement, you still may have to pay unemployment. That’s true even if the employee signs a statement saying he or she quit voluntarily in order to get the extra money …

Manager wounded after guards were eliminated sues bank

09/01/2007

A SunTrust Bank manager, who was wounded during a bank robbery, has sued the bank because it had eliminated security guard positions for economic reasons just before the robbery …

‘Injured’ nurse not too hurt to work on car for three hours

09/01/2007

A nurse at the Bayonet Point Health & Rehabilitation Center has lost her workers’ compensation claim after the employer videotaped her detailing her car …

Get legal advice to make sure contractors aren’t employees

09/01/2007

California’s unemployment compensation law requires employers to pay into the system for all employees. Independent contractors, on the other hand, are on their own. That might make it tempting to redefine some employees as independent contractors. Don’t do so without careful guidance from your attorney! …

Q&A: Thanks for the two-Week notice … Now clean out your desk

09/01/2007

Q. If an employee resigns and gives two weeks’ notice, can the employer tell the worker that he or she is not needed for the two weeks and avoid paying the person for that time? …

The legal risks of employee loitering: How ‘Hanging around’ can hang you out to dry

09/01/2007

Here’s another good reason (beyond overtime-pay risks) to discourage employees from hanging around before or after their shifts: If they get hurt, they may be able to sue you directly, rather than going through the workers’ comp system. Here’s how to avoid this legal hazard.