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Job site fatality brings manslaughter charges

07/02/2008
A Brooklyn contractor has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a worker who was killed while digging a foundation in March. William Lattarulo is accused of ignoring obvious safety hazards and forcing his employees to endanger themselves …

Is Howard Stern harassing your female employees?

07/01/2008
The growth of XM and Sirius satellite radio service has brought uncensored radio programming into cubicles, warehouses and breakrooms. And as a new court ruling proves, employees who overhear such sexual banter—even if it’s not directed at them—can sue for harassment …

The HR I.Q. Test: July ’08

07/01/2008
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

How should employers handle new hands-free cell phones law?

07/01/2008

Q. What are employers’ obligations under the new law requiring drivers to use hands-free cell phones? …

Can your e-mail survive ‘Smoking gun’ software?

07/01/2008
Plaintiffs’ lawyers are using a new tactic to search for incriminating e-mail messages in corporate e-mail archives—software that seeks out “worry words” in e-mails that could show your company was aware of potential liability earlier than it admits …

Corporate job sites becoming more interactive

07/01/2008
When someone lands on the “Careers” page at your organization’s web site, what can he or she do? Most employers’ sites give two options: (1) Fill out an application or (2) leave the site. But that is starting to change …

Anchors, oy vey!

07/01/2008
There may be something to the tales of a bitter rivalry between Alycia Lane and Larry Mendte, both news desk fixtures at CBS affiliate KYW-TV in Philadelphia—and now both in legal hot water …

Comcast takes check for woman’s ‘Right arm’

07/01/2008
When Krista Cooney, a Comcast customer in western Pennsylvania, sent the company a check made out for “My Right Arm and Zero Dollars” to protest her cable bill, she thought she’d had the last laugh. But Cooney contends an unidentified employee at Comcast posted an electronic copy of the check on the Internet …

How to protect yourself from Internet-Related liability

07/01/2008
The Internet is an invaluable tool in many workplaces, but lately it’s become a somewhat unexpected cause of employment law litigation. Two issues lead the wired way to the courthouse for employers: gathering information about job candidates through web sites and potential liability for what their employees do while using the Internet …

If you use a job application kiosk, warn applicants that lying is a crime

07/01/2008
If, like many employers these days, you cut down on recruiting costs by using a computer-based kiosk application system, consider adding a warning before applicants begin the process. Colorado makes it a crime for a person to knowingly access “any computer, computer network, or computer system … to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, money, property, services … or other thing of value” …