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Employment Law

Insubordination or legitimate gripe? It’s important to know the difference

09/18/2009

When one of your employees objects to alleged illegal or discriminatory conduct in the company, you can’t simply fire or demote the person. That would be considered illegal retaliation. Still, that doesn’t mean such employees have the right to be insubordinate, rude and nasty.

The new E-Verify mandate: Who must comply?

09/18/2009

A federal court brushed aside last-minute legal appeals from business groups, allowing implementation of the new E-Verify mandate for federal contractors, effective on Sept. 8. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a list of frequently asked questions about the new rules, including who must comply and how. Go to www.uscis.gov/everify.

COBRA enrollments doubled since start of subsidy

09/18/2009

This summer, 38% of terminated employees bought into their former organization’s COBRA health insurance coverage plan. That’s double the 19% enrollment rate recorded during the end of 2008, according to a new Hewitt Associates report.

Do e-mail confidentiality notices provide protection?

09/18/2009

You see them all the time. The paragraph of legalese at the bottom of e-mails that attempts to provide protection from misdirected e-mails. Do they do any good?

Fatal injuries decline, but workplace suicides rise

09/18/2009

Last year, 5,071 Americans died on the job due to injuries. That’s down more than 10% from 2007. One disturbing trend: The number of suicides committed at the workplace jumped 28% last year to 251, the highest number ever recorded in a year.

Hold it! Must you allow unlimited bathroom breaks?

09/18/2009

Employers are required to offer job accommodations to employees who have qualifying disabilities, says the ADA. But if an employee has a medical condition that requires frequent bathroom breaks, does that count as a “disability”? The answer is clear, especially this year …

The HR I.Q. Test: October ’09

09/18/2009

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Can person be employee and independent contractor?

09/18/2009

Q. One of our full-time hourly employees has started a cleaning business on the side. We pay her a set amount for cleaning the offices on the weekend. Since this is an entirely different position, can we pay her as a 1099 independent contractor for the cleaning work if she’s also a full-time employee?

Must we reassign disabled worker to a new job?

09/18/2009

Q. We have an employee who just developed a disability that will keep him from performing his job for an unknown time. After he uses up his FMLA and other accumulated leave, do we have an obligation to look for another position for him?

Is a health insurance opt-out bonus taxable?

09/18/2009

Q. We give employees who opt out of our health plan a bonus. Do we withhold federal taxes on that bonus?