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Employment Law

10 minutes well-spent: Audit your employee bulletin board

09/29/2009

Have you audited the employee bulletin board in your break room or next to your time clock recently? Have you ever done so? A little time spent seeing what’s there—and what’s missing—will keep you in compliance with North Carolina and federal laws.

We’re small; do we need an employee handbook?

09/29/2009

Q. We are a small company and do not have an employee handbook. Are we required to have one?

Can handbooks create employment contracts?

09/29/2009

Q. I have heard that an employee handbook can create a contract between the employer and the employee. Is this true? If so, can this be prevented?

Must we grant leave for employees to attend meetings at their kids’ schools?

09/29/2009

Q. Are we obligated to provide paid leave so one of our employees can attend a mandatory school meeting concerning his child?

Can we require employees to keep working despite inclement weather?

09/29/2009

Q. When there’s even a hint of bad weather, one of our employees goes home. Can we require her to work until the regular quitting time?

Try ADA process even if disability pay is option

09/28/2009

Some employees who become injured would just as soon keep working. Rather than collect temporary disability payments, they’d rather see whether they can perform another job or otherwise persuade employers to accommodate their injuries. If you face that situation, be careful not to force such employees to go out on disability.

ERISA can send contract case to federal court

09/28/2009

Employment agreements are contracts. When disputes arise, they’re typically litigated in state courts because they involve state contract laws. But under the right circumstances, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) may apply to the agreement, effectively making the contract a protected benefit plan.

One way to stop retaliation cases: Evenly enforce sick-leave documentation rules

09/28/2009

You shouldn’t have to worry about losing a retaliation lawsuit if you consistently follow your internal rules for seeking medical information from employees who ask for sick leave. That’s true even if the employee has already complained about discrimination, either internally or to the EEOC.

REDA revisited: It doesn’t cover discrimination claims addressed by federal law

09/28/2009

The Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act is intended to prevent employers from punishing employees for reporting unsafe or illegal working conditions or filing workers’ compensation claims. But recently, employees and their lawyers have tried to use REDA to claim more general retaliation for reporting allegations of race discrimination. Fortunately, the courts are shutting the doors on such claims.

When federal compliance and N.C. law collide: Violating FMLA doesn’t end at-will employment

09/28/2009

Employers that end up violating the FMLA—unintentionally or not—don’t face an additional problem under North Carolina law. The supposed problem: At-will employees in North Carolina can sue their employers if they’re terminated and the discharge violates public policy. But failing to follow the intricacies of federal laws and regulations doesn’t violate public policy.