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Employment Law

Headed to court? Have everyone ask lawyers if conversations are being recorded

12/01/2007

When it comes to winning lawsuits, it’s a cutthroat world out there. Attorneys representing employees may stoop to low tactics, such as secretly recording every conversation they have with witnesses. What’s worse, it’s not against the Georgia state bar ethics rules to make secret recordings. But lying about it is. That’s why you should instruct anyone who will be speaking with an employee’s attorney to ask point blank whether the conversation is being recorded …

Just got served with court papers? It’s OK to impose already-Planned discipline

12/01/2007

Sometimes, employees who are having trouble at work think that filing EEOC complaints or lawsuits will save their jobs. It’s a ploy generally designed to paralyze management by raising the specter of a retaliation claim. But courts generally don’t hold it against an employer if it carries out a previously made discipline decision. A lawsuit or complaint doesn’t work like a cease-and-desist order …

Nuclear plant whistle-Blower terminated, then sues

12/01/2007

An engineer at a Georgia nuclear plant was terminated and escorted from the plant after he filed a complaint about plant safety with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The engineer filed the complaint after a valve at the plant became stuck, affecting the plant’s ability to control the nuclear reaction …

Bad noose for airport worker

12/01/2007

A construction worker at a rental car facility at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was fired for hanging a noose at the job site. Co-workers discovered the noose when they came to the job site one morning. Investigators could not determine a motive for the employee’s actions …

Madison County settles in religious discrimination case

12/01/2007

An agnostic paramedic sued Madison County for religious discrimination after the county offered Christian counseling, held Christian prayer meetings in the workplace and allegedly terminated him because of his agnosticism …

City of Morrow loses overtime/Retaliation suit

12/01/2007

Two city police lieutenants sued the city of Morrow, claiming the city’s managers refused to pay them overtime and retaliated against them after they filed suit. According to court documents, a city manager fired one lieutenant and required the other to use annual leave for training time …

MasTec to settle overtime suit

12/01/2007

Technology company MasTec has agreed to settle long-standing overtime suits involving some of its home installation employees. The complaints date back to 2001 and affect current and former employees in 10 states, including Georgia …

Section 409A extends beyond formal deferred comp plans

12/01/2007

The IRS recently issued final regulations for implementation of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A regulates deferred compensation. Deferred compensation benefits traditionally have been viewed as compensation reserved for executives and upper management level employees. But the effects of Section 409A extend much further. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the regulations …

Don’t ask workers to waive past or future FMLA claims

12/01/2007

A key FMLA regulation says, “Employees cannot waive, nor may employers induce employees to waive, their rights under FMLA.” But does that rule apply to waivers of future FMLA violations as well as when they sign settlement agreements based on past FMLA violations? …

Expect slower phone/E-mail service from EEOC

12/01/2007

With the closing of its national call center in Kansas set for Dec. 19, the EEOC took the unusual step of warning the public that it will be harder to communicate with the agency for at least a few months. The agency called on employers “to be patient” during that time …