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Employment Law

Make sure handbook includes rules on off-the-clock work, missed break time

02/26/2014
With strong policies, employees (and their lawyers) will find it much harder to mount class-action wage-and-hour lawsuits. That’s because employees have to show that a common policy or practice was responsible for wage-and-hour violations.

Harassment complaint? Terminate with care!

02/26/2014
Good news if you’re worried about firing an employee who has filed a sexual harassment complaint. If your investigation concludes the complaining worker was also partly at fault, he won’t be able to win a wrongful discharge case—unless he can prove that his underlying complaint was a “substantial motivating reason” for his termination.

Cover employee expenses–or prepare for court

02/26/2014

Now is a good time to make sure your employees are being properly reimbursed for expenses they incur while performing their jobs. The problem: If they aren’t reimbursed for those expenses, their pay may fall below minimum wage. And if that’s the case, they can quit and sue, alleging constructive discharge.

Make sure employees are clear about your system for counting FMLA leave

02/26/2014
Your organization is free to run FMLA leave concurrently with other paid leave. To avoid a lawsuit, just make sure you tell employees exactly how you are accounting for their FMLA leave.

Recruiting/Screening Practices

02/26/2014

HR Law 101: In 2007, the EEOC introduced E-RACE, an initiative for “Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment.” The initiative’s goal: to eliminate recruiting and hiring practices that lead to discrimination by limiting an employer’s applicant pool. The EEOC noted that the makeup of an employer’s workforce is “highly dependent on how and where the employer looks for candidates.”

Snapchat for business? Beware risks of self-destructing texts

02/24/2014
No laws specifically prohibit auto-destruct messaging in business, but employers should be wary of the potential employment-law downside.

Job Applications

02/24/2014

HR Law 101: Most organizations ask candidates to fill out a job application. Make sure that yours meets federal, state and local requirements. Don’t ask for information that could be considered discriminatory …

IRCA: Hiring Immigrants

02/22/2014

HR Law 101: Two laws govern U.S. immigration policy: the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which was amended in 1990. For each new employee hired, U.S. employers must complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The I-9 establishes the employee’s identity and legal work status.

Discrimination hotline won’t protect against lawsuit

02/20/2014
Merely creating a hotline for reporting discrimination isn’t enough to protect an employer against harassment and discrimination claims.

Noncompete agreements for new and existing employees

02/19/2014
Q. We recently merged with a smaller company, taking on several new sales people. Most of our existing sales staff are long-time, loyal employees, so we haven’t previously used noncompete agreements. However, we’re now reconsidering this. Can we ­require all of our sales staff to sign noncompetes?