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Employment Law

Don’t be surprised if tort claim follows initial lawsuit

10/28/2008

Government employees who want to sue for such things as defamation have to let the state know before they file suit. It gets trickier, however, when the employee amends a previous suit …

Employee does not have to specify race to invoke protection

10/28/2008

Bernard Pettis, who is black, worked for R.R. Donnelley as a materials handler, loading skids for press operator Tim Cain. Whenever Cain, who is white, helped Pettis seal the skids, he would smash Pettis’ hands under the top board, then laugh and tell co-workers, “I got his hands,” or “Ooh, look at him.”

Restaurant owes back wages; owners wrangle over who pays

10/28/2008

Las Limas restaurant in Angola has been ordered to pay 20 workers roughly $40,000 in back wages for numerous wage violations. A two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that kitchen staff were improperly paid on a salary basis and denied overtime.

What are the liability risks for health plan administrators?

10/28/2008

Q. I was recently approached by one of our company’s board members and asked to act as the plan administrator for our health benefits plan. I am nervous about assuming formal responsibility for plan administration. Am I subject to personal liability for administering our company’s plan?

What if a disability accommodation might cause morale problems with other employees?

10/28/2008

Q. An employee whose doctor says she cannot stand for long periods of time recently requested an accommodation. The employee requested the opportunity to sit on a stool while she works. We are concerned that giving this employee a stool will prompt other employees to request seats of their own, even though they do not have the disability she does. Do we have to accommodate her request, knowing that it could lead to significant morale problems?

Downtime: When to Pay for Meal and Rest Breaks

10/28/2008

It’s a deceptively simple concept: You have to pay nonexempt employees for every hour they work. But employers often trip over interpretation of that law when it comes to exceptions such as meal and rest breaks. Here’s a plain-English explanation of a sometimes tricky situation. PLUS! Find out what workers are really doing on their coffee breaks!

Resolve to fix classification mistakes now

10/27/2008

Few HR mistakes can blow up faster than the simple misclassification of a nonexempt employee. A single FLSA classification error can easily become an attorney’s meal ticket, as well as an employer’s ticket to the poorhouse. Prevent this costly calamity by regularly reviewing your positions to make sure you have properly classified everyone.

Warn bosses: Don’t exclude from ‘inner circle’

10/27/2008

Train all bosses to avoid even the appearance of favoritism. Explain that excluding anyone from an “inner circle” may trigger a lawsuit, especially if those on the “in” list are largely members of the same protected classification as the supervisor or manager. Something as simple as speaking a common foreign language with select subordinates can trigger a lawsuit …

Rutgers poli-sci department is old school, women claim

10/27/2008

Five female faculty members at Rutgers University in New Brunswick have filed a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office, alleging bias in pay and decision-making in the Political Science Department.

Beware bigger penalties for wage-and-hour claims under N.J. whistle-blower law

10/27/2008

Employees and their lawyers are always looking for more ways to wring money out of employers that make mistakes. The latest trend in wage-and-hour cases, for example, is to file an FLSA lawsuit and then seek to collect additional damages by tacking on additional claims under New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Here’s how …