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Employment Law

Follow all leads when investigating allegations–even if they take query in new direction

06/11/2010

Investigations of workplace wrongdoing sometimes take unexpected turns. Don’t hesitate to keep digging, no matter where the evidence leads. You may discover that the employee who complained in the first place hasn’t been as innocent as he claims. If it turns out that an apparent victim has actually done something wrong, you can take disciplinary action.

IRS releases first round of guidance on new health care law

06/11/2010
Don’t panic if you’re not fully conversant on all the details of health care reform. The IRS, Department of Labor and other federal agencies will be rolling out regulations to put meat on the bones of this often-confusing law. The IRS last month published the first round of this avalanche of regulations. Find links to all IRS rules on the new health care law at www.IRS.gov.

High Court: Bias clock resets with each hiring decision

06/10/2010
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in May ruled that the lawsuit clock resets each time an employer uses apparently biased job-qualification tests to make hiring decisions. The court said the timing of Title VII lawsuits doesn’t depend on when the test was administered, but on when the employer uses the test results, even if that’s years later.

DOL plan carries huge HR paperwork burden

06/10/2010

Which of your workers are eligible for overtime pay? Which are independent contractors versus employees? It soon won’t be good enough to guess … get ready to document and show proof. The DOL issued a proposal last month that would require employers to prepare detailed records on every worker’s status under the FLSA. Then you’d have to keep that information on file and be prepared to show it to the DOL upon request.

Hiring from the competition, how much should we ask about any noncompete agreements?

06/09/2010
Q. We are considering hiring an employee away from one of our competitors. Should we ask whether she is subject to a noncompete agreement, or is it better for us to move forward not knowing the answer?

How should we handle pay for employee who will be out two weeks on National Guard duty?

06/09/2010
Q. One of our full-time employees has just informed us that he will be on two weeks of National Guard duty soon. He will be absent from work to attend an annual encampment in a reserve branch of the armed forces. What are our legal obligations concerning pay to this employee?

Prepare for the crackdown: DOL focuses on wage underpayment

06/09/2010

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is stepping up efforts to encourage and support certain types of wage-loss claims by low-income workers. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced in April that the department was rolling out its “We Can Help” campaign to address this issue. If you employ relatively low-wage workers, you need to be aware of this program.

Minnesota among states eyeing worker misclassification issues

06/09/2010

While Congress ponders the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, several states are studying ways to target employers that misclassify their employees as independent contractors. Minnesota is part of a joint task force studying the misclassification problem.

Court allows case to continue despite vague claims

06/09/2010

Don’t expect to get a case tossed out just because the complaint is vague. The fact is, courts are willing to let an employee continue a quest for a big jury award as long as the complaint puts the employer on notice about the essentials, if not the specifics, of the case.

Court nixes ‘sham’ job-offer argument

06/09/2010

Consider this scenario: An employee lodges a complaint that her sex or race kept her from being promoted. Shortly after, you offer her an opportunity for advancement. She then turns around and sues, alleging that the offer was a sham. Fortunately, courts are rejecting such arguments.