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Employment Law

Track discipline by protected characteristics

10/24/2008

Poor performers who think they have been discriminated against when fired, demoted or otherwise disciplined can still win a lawsuit—if they can show that others outside their protected class were just as lousy but didn’t receive the same discipline. Be ready to defend yourself with solid, carefully documented proof…

Beware a work environment that treats women as sex objects

10/24/2008

Not all flirting is sexual harassment, and occasional provocative talk doesn’t necessarily create a sexually hostile work environment. But watch out if things get so out of hand that a reasonable female employee would believe co-workers or supervisors see women as sex objects.

Ethics battle rages as Election Day approaches

10/24/2008

State Auditor Les Merritt has released a preliminary report concluding that the State Ethics Commission is “hiding facts from the public” regarding its termination of commission office assistant Amanda Thaxton and a related investigation into whether it gave Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue preferential treatment …

94% of plant’s workers illegal? ICE detains hundreds in sting

10/24/2008

In the largest raid ever conducted in the Carolinas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained more than 300 workers at Columbia Farms, a House of Raeford Poultry plant in Columbia, S.C. Roughly 100 agents swept through the plant just before 9 a.m. on Oct. 7, sending workers scattering …

Civil rights groups call for sheriff’s resignation over remarks

10/24/2008

Two dozen civil rights groups signed a letter calling for the resignation of Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell, following an article in the Raleigh News & Observer in which Bizzell lamented the influx of “drunk Mexicans” who “rape, rob and murder” American citizens and are “breeding like rabbits” in his county.

If we have to lay off employees, is severance pay mandatory?

10/24/2008

Q. Our company is about to have a layoff. Are we required to pay severance to the employees we lay off? …

Must we recall laid-off employees if the economy turns around and conditions improve?

10/24/2008

Q. If we lay off an employee, are we required to recall the employee at a later time if we have work? …

What’s the quid pro quo on noncompete agreements?

10/24/2008

Q. We want current employees to sign noncompete agreements. If we do not offer an employee something of value in exchange for signing the agreement, is it against the law to terminate the employee? If we offer something of value, and the employee refuses to sign, can we terminate the employee? …

How far back can we go when conducting background checks on employees?

10/24/2008

Q. We do background checks on our employees. Is there a restriction on how many years we can go back on the employee? …

Is it illegal for employees to use cell phones while driving?

10/24/2008

Q. Our employees often use their cell phones when driving vehicles. Does North Carolina prohibit or limit cell phone use while driving?