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Employment Law

Shots for unionized med workers subject to bargaining

02/01/2008

Lately, the Centers for Disease Control regularly warns about the danger of the next super bug or pandemic flu outbreak. That’s one reason it’s no surprise that health care facilities want to inoculate staff against contagious illnesses. But in a union environment, it may not be enough to simply order employees to get shots …

Shipping interstate or intrastate? It matters for overtime

02/01/2008

Due to a legislative quirk, the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t cover many employees who deliver goods via the nation’s highways. Instead, the drivers are excluded under the FLSA’s motor carrier safety exemption. But it’s not so simple …

California Supreme Court grants new free-Speech power to unions and customers

02/01/2008

The California Supreme Court has ruled that unions and their supporters generally are free to urge customers shopping in private malls to boycott retailers at that mall. The ruling builds on earlier decisions that held that free-speech rights granted to California citizens in the state constitution are broader than those in the U.S. Constitution …

Make sure employment contract language spells out employees’ ‘at will’ status

02/01/2008

Does your organization use an employment contract for some employees? If so, does that contract specify that either party can terminate the agreement for any or no reason at all? If not, insert that language right away. It will help you retain maximum control over the work force while benefiting from having the other terms and conditions in writing …

Paid suspensions help cool down disputes

02/01/2008

When things get heated in the workplace, call a timeout. You need time to investigate what’s going on, and employees may need time to cool down. Paid administrative leave is often the best way to do that. Continue to pay the employee (and provide benefits) so he won’t be able to point to the suspension as an adverse employment action …

Arbitration may not bar class action

02/01/2008

Two managers at Dynamics Research brought a wage-and-hour class-action suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Massachusetts law. The company asked the court to throw out the class action because it said it had a “Dispute Resolution Program” that required arbitration and disallowed class-action suits. The managers said the way the company instituted the dispute resolution process made it invalid …

No employee right to use company e-Mail for union organizing

02/01/2008

The National Labor Relations Board has concluded that employers are free to forbid employee use of their systems for “nonjob-related solicitations.” The long-awaited decision says that an employer has the right to restrict use of its e-mail system based on its property interest in the computer equipment …

Specify some offenses as dischargeable, and follow through

02/01/2008

Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment, and that includes taking reasonable measures to ensure that violence stays outside the workplace gate. Your employee handbook should include “no violence” and “no threats” clauses, explaining that verified violence or threats mean immediate dismissal …

Stable employment history is a legitimate hiring criterion

02/01/2008

You can use stable employment history as a legitimate selection criterion in hiring—if you do it right. The key is to allow employees to explain interruptions in their employment histories, ignoring those that could lead to a discrimination lawsuit …

Unequal treatment during investigation can trigger lawsuit

02/01/2008

When conducting internal investigations into alleged wrongdoings, make sure you don’t treat employees who belong to a protected class (e.g., age, sex, race or disability) differently than others who may have misbehaved. As the following case shows, discharging one person based on an emotional reaction during an interview and keeping another who kept his cool under questioning may lead to a discrimination lawsuit …