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Employment Law

Don’t write wishy-washy policies that make it hard for staff to comply

06/01/2004
Your employment policies should never leave employees guessing about how they must comply.
That’s why it’s vital to use concrete terms in your
policies that discuss employee behaviors and …

Continued employment may be enough to make noncompetes legal

06/01/2004
If you ask employees to sign an agreement not to compete with your organization for a certain length of time after they leave, the agreement isn’t binding unless you offer the …

You can trim health benefits for Medicare-eligible retirees

06/01/2004
If your organization offers health insurance to retired employees, an important new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling says you can reduce or eliminate those benefits after the ex-employee becomes eligible …

Supreme Court expands filing window in ‘Section 1981’ cases

06/01/2004
The U.S. Supreme Court last month set a four-year statute of limitations in so-called “Section 1981” discrimination cases.
While most employees file discrimination cases under Title VII of the Civil …

Federal contractors: Post ‘Beck’ notice in workplace

06/01/2004
The Labor Department issued final rules last month requiring federal contractors to post notices that inform employees of certain union rights under the Supreme Court’s Communi-cation Workers v. Beck case. Essen-tially, …

States aren’t immune from ADA lawsuits, high court says

06/01/2004
The Supreme Court ruled May 17 that disabled people can sue state governments for failing to provide them access to courthouses, voting booths or other public services.
Previously, states had …

Camera phones at work: Shoot down this latest legal threat

06/01/2004
Camera phones now make up more than 4 percent of all worldwide cell phone sales. By 2007, more than half of all cell phones will be equipped with cameras, and cell …

Interviewing: Sharpen skills to stamp out hiring bias

06/01/2004
THE LAW. Job interviews are a legal minefield for HR people and managers. Your questions must avoid stepping on federal and state equal employment laws that ban discrimination on the basis …

Four-Year degree won’t automatically earn exemption

06/01/2004

Q. Regarding the “learned professional” exemption, is it safe to say that a person with a four-year degree would be considered in that category, but a person with an associate’s or two-year degree would not? —Marilyn, Pennsylvania

Make Full-Day Deductions, Not Partial, for Exempt Staff

06/01/2004

Q. If an exempt employee uses all her sick time and vacation time, then takes a half day off for personal reasons, can I deduct for that half day, or does it have to be a whole day? Has that changed under the new law? —Barbara, Louisiana