Start Your Free Trial
Ask The Attorney
Answers by Joe Beachboard, Esq.,
Ogletree Deakins
Get 48-hour responses to your most pressing employment law questions.
Fast Track HR Audit
Answer a series of multiple-choice questions to gauge your level of employment-law compliance. Your answers will generate a list of free forms, policies and other resources to help you plug your compliance holes.
State HR Law Summaries
Make sure your company is in total compliance with all state HR laws. Our State HR Law Summaries brief you on key HR laws in all 50 states and alert you to legislative or regulatory changes.
Forms
Forms Access more than 70 customizable forms and sample policies in Word and PDF format—from applications to termination letters and everything in between.
Employee Relations

Writing and giving job reviews: 8 do's and don'ts

2/9/2010
Anything less than a completely honest performance appraisal will only cheat the employee out of personal development, plus it could set the stage for a discrimination lawsuit. Here are eight important do’s and don’ts:
Compensation & Benefits

Unemployment well runs dry: 70% of states raise taxes

2/8/2010
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2011, 40 state unemployment trust funds will be drained due to the prolonged recession. As a result, 35 states have increased their unemployment insurance taxes on employers for 2010.
Hiring

New site gives ammo to applicants left hanging

2/8/2010
If your organization doesn’t respond to interviewed-but-rejected applicants, a new web site, EmailYourInterviewer.com, gives those candidates a way to show their displeasure—anonymously.
HR Management

Your new workers' comp investigator: Facebook

2/5/2010
More employers are using Facebook and other social media sites to spot employees who file fraudulent workers’ comp claims. Example: An employee who was in too much pain to get out of bed posted video of himself competing in a rodeo.
Employment Law

Employees filed job-discrimination complaints with EEOC in near-record numbers last year

2/5/2010
If you thought the 2008 spike in employee job discrimination complaints was a one-time blip, think again. During fiscal year 2009, U.S. employees filed 93,277 workplace discrimination charges with the EEOC. That’s the second-highest level ever, just below the FY 2008 record number of 95,402 charges.
Terminations

Quick settlements encourage more suits; sometimes you have to trust a jury

2/4/2010
Employers are often too eager to settle cases just to get out from under the possibility of a runaway jury. But caving in like that can make you a more tempting target for other employees. If you and your attorneys are convinced you didn’t do anything wrong, it may be best to trust a jury to hear the case and come to the same conclusion.
Article Archives

Must vacation, sick leave be listed on pay stubs?

Annual checkup: Your top 10 employment law to-do's in 2010

In all promotion notices, include specifics about minimum job requirements

Can I tell union organizers to hit the road?

Exempt status: What counts as 'discretion'?

Unwonk your organization's mission statement

What HR can learn from Obama and the GOP

When is it illegal to fire someone for sleeping on the job?

It's time to post your OSHA forms

8 questions help you make the contractor vs. employee call

The hidden risks of hiring based on 'chemistry'

Is your employee's doctor an 'FMLA specialist'?

The inaccessible break room and the ADA

Dozing at desk? Hold your fire; consider ADA