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Employment Contracts

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? …

‘Last-Chance agreements’ are reasonable accommodations for substance abuse

12/01/2007

A court has ruled that so-called “last-chance agreements”—which put off discharge in favor of treatment for an active drug or alcohol problem—are valid as reasonable accommodations. If last-chance agreements were banned, employees with substance abuse problems would lose an important avenue toward keeping their jobs …

Paying commission? Get written agreement

12/01/2007

If your organization pays some employees on a commission basis, it may be a good idea to put it in writing. Relying on just an oral agreement may lead to trouble down the road—especially if the employee quits and says you owe him money. Without a written agreement spelling out the commission terms, a lawsuit probably will come down to his word against yours …

Employee References: Sample Release Form

11/21/2007
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How to Make Legally Smart Job Offers

11/19/2007
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Don’t let manual become a contract—Make sure employees sign ‘At-Will’ notice

11/01/2007

Ohio is an at-will employment state, meaning that employees can be fired (and quit) for any reason or no reason as long as the employer doesn’t violate a specific anti-discrimination or other law. But employers and employees can change their relationships to a contractual one by agreement. If they do, then it becomes much harder to fire that employee without a rock-solid reason …

Noncompete agreements and trade secrets

11/01/2007

Q. My company is involved in the biotech industry and regularly develops proprietary information. We currently are working with an executive search firm to find a replacement for a high-level marketing executive position. Management wants to manage the risk of disclosure of confidential information. How restrictive may the potential candidate’s noncompete agreement be, given the company’s special needs to protect trade secrets? …

California Supreme Court issues key class-Action ruling

11/01/2007

The California Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in the case of Gentry v. Superior Court, deciding whether class-action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are legally binding. In a case of good news/bad news for employers, the court didn’t say that all arbitration agreements, or even all class-action waivers, were invalid—just the poorly drafted ones …

Should you encourage job candidates to reject other job offers?

11/01/2007

Q. Our company recently offered a job to a highly skilled software designer. Upon offering the worker a position, she informed us that she had accepted a similar position with one of our competitors. However, she told us that she would rather take our offer. What should we do? …