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Employment Law

Nov. 4 ballot initiatives may change Colorado employment law

10/07/2008

November’s election has special implications for Colorado employers because a number of ballot issues involve employment law. The ballot features dueling initiatives: four measures brought by organized labor in response to three measures sponsored by business interests …

Can I fire employees who may soon become competitors?

10/07/2008

Q. I just learned from a reliable source that two employees are going to start a similar business. Apparently, they have submitted paperwork that is based on the forms I used to create my own business. Is this grounds for termination? …

What should I do when fraud allegations surface?

10/07/2008

Q. A former employee is circulating a rumor that there has been some kind of fraud taking place at my business. What should I do? …

Can an employer deduct hours for employee meal breaks?

10/07/2008

Q. My company deducts 30 minutes from each day’s recorded time for employees’ meal periods. Is this proper? …

OK to waive workers’ comp?

10/07/2008

Q. Can an employee waive coverage under workers’ comp laws? …

How can we avoid wage-and-hour class action lawsuits?

10/07/2008

Q. I keep hearing about wage-and-hour class actions, where workers claim they were not paid properly because they were misclassified as exempt, not paid for all hours or not paid the correct overtime rate. What can I do to minimize this risk? …

What, if anything, should I do about off-work employee harassment?

10/07/2008

Q. An employee complained that co-workers made fun of her at an after-work bowling event. She says they made fun of her accent (she is an immigrant) and talked about sexual acts involving her. She is embarrassed now and does not want to work with the people involved. Do I need to look into this, or should I refuse because the incidents took place away from work? …

Holiday parties: Don’t let best of times become worst of times

10/07/2008

By exerting proper control over your holiday party this year, you can reduce everyone’s worries concerning the annual fete. Most important, careful planning will help your company avoid lawsuits as you ring in the New Year.

Document when you first told worker of termination

10/06/2008

Employees who have been terminated don’t have long to file a complaint about alleged discrimination. Employers that suspect they might be sued can capitalize on the short statute of limitations by starting the clock as soon as possible. Here’s how …

OK to fire slackers even if out on FMLA leave

10/06/2008

It’s a myth that being off on FMLA leave means an employee can’t be terminated. The employee can be—as long as the employer has good reasons for the termination. Being on FMLA leave doesn’t give someone immunity from being fired for incompetence …