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Employment Law

Contracts should spell out at-will employment

10/20/2016
It’s unusual, but sometimes a written offer of employment for a specific time period can overcome the usual presumption of at-will employment. Note, however, that other documents may stipulate that employment is at-will—and they will stand up in court.

You must pay employees for almost all training time

10/20/2016
Most training is designed to help employees perform their jobs better. Almost always, that means training time is paid time.

Etsy proposes new kind of employment status

10/20/2016
Etsy.com recently went to Washington to urge changes to how artisans, entrepreneurs and other independent workers are treated.

Business groups want to stop contractor disclosure regulations

10/18/2016
A group of business associations has asked a federal court in Texas to issue a temporary restraining order to block an Obama administration rule requiring federal contractors to disclose previous labor law violations.

Walmart managers get raises to exceed OT salary threshold

10/18/2016
Walmart is giving thousands of assistant managers a pay bump in advance of new overtime rules requiring overtime pay for employees who work more than 40 hours per week and make less than $47,476 per year.

Emergency injunctions sought to stop new OT rules

10/18/2016
Plaintiffs in two lawsuits challenging the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules have asked a federal judge in East Texas to issue expedited injunctions preventing the rules from taking effect Dec. 1.

Do we need to accommodate a disabled contractor just like we would an employee?

10/17/2016
Q. We just hired a contractor for a special project. He has complained that he is sensitive to the smells in our office, which include personal fragrance, scent diffusers and “smelly” food. Since he isn’t our employee can we just tell him to put up with the odor?

How far do we have to go to accommodate employee’s migraine headaches?

10/17/2016
Q. Our receptionist gets occasional migraine headaches, and she gave us a long list of “triggers” that she wants us to eliminate at work. The list includes no fluorescent lights. We cannot afford to replace all of our fluorescent lights. Can we just say no?

Beware overtime issues when calculating FMLA eligibility

10/17/2016
When an employee requests leave for family care, medical, parenting or military emergencies, the first thing an employer should do is to determine if the leave qualifies as time off under the FMLA.

Custodial aide cleans up after equal pay complaint

10/17/2016
The Montevideo, Minn. School District has settled an equal pay discrimination suit with the EEOC for $50,000.