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Employment Contracts

Revamp employment contracts to account for new tax rules

02/01/2005
Issue: A new IRS ruling says signing bonuses and early-termination payments are considered taxable wages.
Risk: Overlooking that decision can trigger compensation problems or IRS penalties.
Action: Take this …

You’re not required to give reservists a post-duty rest period

01/01/2005
If you have military reservists on staff, you can call them to work right after they return from their weekend duty or other service obligations. Contrary to what you may have …

Temps can no longer bargain alongside regular employees

01/01/2005
Good news for employers: A new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling makes it much more difficult for temporary employees to join the same union as the organization’s permanent employees.
…

Use ‘restrictive covenants’ to limit damage from staff defectors

01/01/2005
You were annoyed last week when your company’s sales manager quit. He’d been in that job for 15 years and didn’t give any notice. But today, four of your best sales …

Make legally smart job offers; avoid ‘implied’ contracts

01/01/2005
Issue: Legal problems that stem from inadvertent comments at the job-offer stage.
Risk: Imprecise wording of an offer could lock you into an ‘implied contract’ with the employee.
Action: …

Erase ideas of ‘implied contract’ with repeated at-will statements

11/01/2004
Make sure all versions of your company policies, whether in employee handbooks, online policies or even offer letters, contain clear at-will employment statements.
As this ruling shows, you won’t be …

Warn managers not to exaggerate pay and perks

11/01/2004
Issue: In their zeal to lure top-shelf applicants, hiring managers may embellish on the pay, perks and promotion opportunities. Risk: Failing …

Severance pacts can’t ask employees to waive their rights to EEOC claim

10/01/2004
Make sure your severance agreements don’t require employees to waive their rights to file a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Why? As opposed to a …

What do you do when the big boss is a harasser?

10/01/2004
Issue: How to handle harassing behavior by your organization’s top dogs. Risk: Going easy on them will come back to haunt you; courts hold higher-ups to a higher standard than …

Inquire about confidentiality agreements

10/01/2004

Q. If a job applicant doesn’t mention that he or she is subject to a confidentiality agreement, should we ask? —L.M., Maryland