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Employment Contracts

It’s not always best to challenge a handbook’s implied contract

07/01/2000
Continental Airlines followed a detailed attendance policy with machinist Kevin McGuire. He first got verbal and written warnings, then was fired. McGuire contested …

Recover training costs

07/01/2000

Q. Can we require an employee to sign an agreement to reimburse the company for half the expenses related to training, if the employee resigns within six months? —S.D., Northern Marianas

Don’t lose your at-will right by guaranteeing a job for life

05/01/2000
Officials at the Huntsman Corp. allegedly told James Scott Wesson that he “would always have a job” there. But Wesson’s employment contract made no mention of lifetime employment. When the company …

Be careful when altering pregnant worker’s pay

05/01/2000

Q. If a pregnant employee is salaried and is missing two days of work a week, can we legally make her an hourly employee? When the employee was hired, her contract should have been hourly. Is it legal to change the basis of her pay now? —C.H., Michigan

Walk the line on drug tests; bad policy lets workers reap benefits

02/01/2000
Jack Eaton got the boot after a drug test showed he’d been using marijuana and cocaine. Yet a court said he can still collect unemployment compensation, because his employer gave the …

Two key January rulings

02/01/2000
You must protect contractors from hostile environments. A Mexican-American owner of a company hired to clean parking lots at Wal-Mart claimed that …

OSHA safety rules: Do homework on employee home work

02/01/2000
If you were watching the U.S. Labor Department last month, you might have whiplash from its quick turnaround on policy guidance regarding an employer’s responsibility for the safety of employee home …

Ability to use noncompete clauses is shrinking

01/01/2000
Doing business at the speed of the Internet may trim the time you have to restrict former employees from working for competitors. Mark Schlack signed an …

17 steps to protect your trade secrets

01/01/2000
Protecting your company’s trade secrets is important for two reasons: You’ll make it less likely that confidential information will be misappropriated. It will be easier for you to …