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Employment Law

Ledbetter timing applies to Texas cases, too

05/06/2010

Here’s a big new worry for Texas employers: Employees who want to sue over long-ago discriminatory pay decisions can do so within 180 days of the last discriminatory paycheck, at least according to one state appeals court. The 1st Court of Appeals has ruled that the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act applies to discrimination cases under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act as well as Title VII claims.

Can employees moonlight while on FMLA leave?

05/06/2010
Q. One of our employees is off on FMLA leave to care for a sick child. But we know she is also working a second job. We need her back and it seems to me if she can take part-time work, she could work at least a reduced schedule for us instead. Can we cancel her leave?

No employee ‘right’ to affair with subordinate

05/05/2010
The U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens the right to free association without government interference. Courts have used that right to strike down laws that prevent members of different ethnic backgrounds from marrying each other. But what about the right of public employees to free association? Can a public employer punish an employee for having a romantic relationship with a subordinate? That was the question recently answered by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

New DOL rules would add paperwork on every employee

05/04/2010
Get ready for a massive paperwork increase! If the U.S. Department of Labor has its way, employers will soon be required to prepare detailed records on every worker’s FLSA status and pay. Find out about a new program that could reshape the HR function.

Don’t bury FMLA leave taker in catch-up work

05/04/2010

In today’s economic climate, you may be tempted to forgo hiring a temp to fill in for an employee who’s out on FMLA leave. But what will you do if the employee returns to a huge pile of work left undone during her absence? Think twice before you tell her to “catch up or else.”

Keep good disciplinary records, win lawsuits

05/01/2010

You know how important it is to consistently apply disciplinary rules and ensure no form of bias creeps into the disciplinary process. That’s one reason it’s crucial for HR to keep disciplinary records on file. If employees allege that you disciplined them in a discriminatory way, you’ll be able to show no one was treated more favorably than anyone else.

What is legal discipline for unauthorized overtime?

04/30/2010
Q. I know I can’t refuse to pay an hourly employee who works overtime even though I never authorized it. What I don’t understand is what kind of discipline should I implement? Can I, for example, deny a cost-of-living increase?

Bill would limit employer rights to employee inventions

04/28/2010
A bill before the New Jersey Assembly would bar employers from profiting from employee inventions—as long as the employee developed the invention on his or her own time and did not use any employer resources to do so.

You must pay promised wages under the Wage Payment Act

04/28/2010

When a manager promises an employee a specific wage for doing certain work, the company is obligated to pay that wage after the employee performs the work. If the employer doesn’t pay, the employee may collect under the New Jersey Wage Payment Act.

N.J. Supreme Court backs e-mail privacy on company PCs

04/28/2010
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that an employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy when she accesses and uses a web-based e-mail account on company computer equipment, but doesn’t save her password on the computer.