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Employment Law

More employers try to regulate employees’ off-Duty behavior

11/01/2007

To help control significant health care cost increases, many employers are trying to regulate employees’ off-duty behavior when they believe that it creates health risks. Although motivated by legitimate economic concerns, are these employers overstepping the boundaries of individual privacy? …

New legal risks for employers using independent contractors

11/01/2007

Same work, fewer expenses and less hassle. That’s the perceived advantage of using independent contractors. But many employers have opted for freelancers only to find a new set of problems: lack of control, unreliable workers and, in some cases, litigation. It’s a complex issue that has invited wide scrutiny. A host of federal and state agencies are cracking down on employers that misclassify workers as independent contractors …

What to do after salaried employee maxes out leave

11/01/2007

Q. I have a salaried employee who used all his vacation and sick time. He is allowed a total of 21 days and has used 22, but he wants to take more vacation in November and is always sick (so he’ll probably be out more). Can I deduct his pay if he’s out more? Or can I take days from next year? This may be an ongoing thing every year …

Foul play: Can employee sue over offensive odor comments?

11/01/2007

Q. An employee of ours has a very distinct, offensive odor. I received several complaints about the smell, so I confronted the employee, hoping to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, he did not respond well and threatened to sue. Does he have a case? …

How do oral promises affect an ‘Employment contract’?

11/01/2007

Q. Do oral promises my employer made during my job interview or during my employment constitute part of my contract of employment? …

Dock pay as part of discipline?

11/01/2007

Q. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, may I dock an employee’s pay as a disciplinary penalty? …

Make sure job descriptions accurately list qualifications

11/01/2007

Accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive job descriptions are essential in defending against all manner of employee lawsuits. As the following case shows, you can’t argue that an applicant doesn’t have the necessary experience or education if your job description doesn’t list those qualifications …

Demanding lie detector test isn’t necessarily retaliation

11/01/2007

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Texas employers, has refused to say that Title VII prohibits the use of polygraph examinations in harassment investigations. Now juries get to decide whether forcing an employee to undergo a polygraph exam is retaliation for filing a complaint …

Court: If employees hold the job, they’re ‘Qualified’

11/01/2007

Employers are finding it harder to get age discrimination cases dismissed early. They also are learning that beating age discrimination suits requires rock-solid evidence of fair and equal treatment—and a genuine, legitimate reason for discharging the employee that has nothing to do with age …

If employee makes threats, discipline isn’t retaliation

11/01/2007

You’ve done everything right. You have a solid anti-harassment and discrimination policy, a simple and effective complaint process and you strive to fairly, completely and quickly resolve complaints. But what do you do when the employee who complained doesn’t like the results and blows up? …