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Employment Law

Rutgers staffers mull suit over pay freezes

06/28/2010

Last year, Rutgers University asked for a wage freeze for its 13,000 employees in exchange for not cutting any positions. This year, the state Legislature cut aid to the university by 15%. Faculty and staff bargaining units are threatening to sue because they voluntarily agreed to the wage freezes last year with the understanding they would receive them this year.


N.J. school teachers accept lower raises

06/28/2010
New Jersey public school teachers are accepting smaller raises in the wake of the ailing economy and state aid cuts. Thirty-three new collective-bargaining agreements resulted in an average 3.35% pay increase for teachers, down from 4.35% in 2009.

Firing? Pick a reason and stick with it

06/28/2010

Presumably, when you terminate an employee, you have good reasons for doing so. If you pile on more reasons later, it may look as if you are trying to cover up a discriminatory decision with a host of excuses for why you fired the employee.

Workers ‘illegal’? You still have to pay them correctly

06/28/2010
Employers can’t use an employee’s undocumented status as an excuse for not paying minimum wage or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as the following case shows.

Independent contractor crackdown isn’t just words

06/25/2010
“The battle lines are drawn,” said Greg Guidry, attorney at Onebane Law Firm in Louisiana. “Federal and state agencies are absolutely intent on cracking down on independent contractor misclassification. You have an increased chance of being audited this year and next year.”

How should we calculate OT when paying bonuses based on previous performance?

06/24/2010
Q. Our company pays monthly bonuses to hourly employees based on the previous month’s performance. When calculating overtime, should the bonus pay be included only for the weekly payroll that contains those bonuses, or does it change the overtime rate for other weekly pay periods as well?

Will proposed legislation put us on the financial hook for misclassified employees?

06/24/2010
Q. If, according to the revised Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, we’ve been improperly classifying certain employees, do we need to go back and reimburse them? At the time, we thought they were properly classified.

Are we vulnerable to reverse discrimination claims because of our ‘early out’ program?

06/24/2010
Q. Are there any specific rules defining “early out” retirement packages offered to employees? Our company is planning to offer early outs. Our criteria mandate that an employee must have worked for us for at least 15 years and be at least 50 years old. But we have employees who have worked as long as 28 years who fail to meet the 50-year-old criterion. Is this age discrimination in a reverse sort of way?

In health care? Get ready for federal affirmative action scrutiny

06/24/2010

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has a bigger budget and more staffing this year, and intends to audit federal government contractors or subcontractors that have 50 or more employees and a contract or subcontract of at least $50,000. And the OFCCP can be expected to increase its scrutiny on health care providers that are contractors or subcontractors for the government.

Temp service settles sex harassment case in Butler

06/24/2010
The temporary-services agency ADECCO USA has settled a string of sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits filed by women assigned to work at Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing’s facility in Butler.