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Compensation & Benefits

When FMLA leave is denied, damages can add up fast

02/24/2009

Here’s a lesson to pass on to managers and supervisors: Employees who win FMLA lawsuits after being denied the right to take leave can end up with a large pot of gold at the end of the litigation—a pot that has to be filled by the company.

What can we do? Employee’s other job makes her miss work here

02/24/2009

Q. We have a salaried employee who holds down a second job. Sometimes, she leaves early on Fridays and comes in late on Mondays because the second job overlaps with our office hours. Can we deduct anything from her pay after she has used up her vacation and leave time? Or do we have to pay her even though she leaves early and comes in late?

Is a doctor’s note enough to prevent us from firing employee who broke call-in rule?

02/24/2009

Q. An employee left work on a Monday due to an illness. She called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday, but we heard nothing on Thursday or Friday. Our policy calls for termination if the employee doesn’t contact us within three days. We posted her job on Friday and decided to terminate her. On Monday, her fiancé called to tell us she was pregnant and had complications that led to a hospital visit. We got a note from her obstetrician saying she’d been examined, but not indicating when she could return. What should we do to avoid any legal fallout?

Personal information on work computers: No expectation of privacy

02/24/2009

A New Jersey appeals court has held for the first time that an employee has no reasonable expectation that personal information stored on work computers is private—even if the employee has created a separate password to protect the information. Employers have the right to search work computers.

Do gift cards count as taxable income?

02/24/2009

Q. We plan to give gasoline gift cards to employees as incentives for picking up additional shifts. Are these cards taxable? Can we, the employer, simply pay the employees’ portion of the taxes?

Study cites N.J. as a hotbed of wage-and-hour claims

02/24/2009

A recent report offers some ominous news for New Jersey employers. New Jersey is one of eight states that saw an increase in class-action wage-and-hour cases filed in state court last year. Advice: Brace yourself for even more wage-and-hour litigation. Such cases typically increase during economic downturns …

Study: Pennsylvania a hotbed for W&H claims

02/24/2009

A recent report offers some ominous news for Pennsylvania employers. Pennsylvania is one of eight states that saw an increase in class-action wage-and-hour cases filed in state court last year, according to the Seyfarth Shaw law firm’s new Workplace Class Action Litigation Report.

Reality TV employees settle wage-and-hour disputes

02/24/2009

Workers who alleged they had to endure marathon schedules while working on reality television shows such as “Trading Spouses” and “The Bachelor” have agreed to settle their lawsuits …

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act may apply to pending cases, too

02/24/2009

The recently signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act may apply to pay discrimination cases that were filed before the law was signed and after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that employees have just 300 days to file pay claims after the initial alleged discriminatory decision.

Williams-Sonoma sticks fork in Camp Hill call center

02/24/2009

Kitchen supply store Williams-Sonoma closed its Camp Hill call center in January. The company opted to pay its employees 60 days’ wages in lieu of providing the 60-day warning required by the federal WARN Act.