• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Alabama

Domestic service employees exempt from overtime

08/01/2007

While the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime provisions apply to the vast majority of employees in the United States, there are some exemptions …

Discipline process doesn’t have to be ‘Right,’ just honest

08/01/2007

If every decision you made on the job when disciplining employees had to be based on absolute truth, the workplace would be paralyzed. So it should come as some comfort to know that courts don’t require you to be 100% correct …

Before discharge, investigate supervisor’s claims

08/01/2007

If you don’t want to subject your organization to liability for a supervisor’s biased or discriminatory discipline recommendations, conduct at least a brief independent investigation …

Establish promotion criteria to discourage lawsuits

08/01/2007

If your organization is like many, employees anxious to move up the ladder covet promotions. But if you have no clear-cut standards or easy-to-explain criteria, lawsuits lurk behind every unqualified, but passed-over, employee …

Worried about ‘Donning and doffing?’ Relax

07/09/2007

The U.S. Supreme Court created a big fuss last year by ruling that time used to put on or remove some work clothes and safety gear outside actual work hours might be compensable time. Many employers changed the way they calculated pay …

Brawling in the workplace? Investigate and discipline promptly

07/01/2007

While you probably have rules in place that dictate civil behavior in your workplace, you may not have a clear plan for dealing with the aftermath of an actual violent confrontation. You should …

Business as usual still the rule after employee complains

07/01/2007

Has an employee filed an EEOC discrimination complaint? If so, you should know that his or her attorney has probably encouraged that employee to look for any sign of retaliation—like a lowered performance evaluation, a demotion or closer scrutiny. Often, attorneys want to bolster their clients’ claims with tales of retribution. That doesn’t mean you should change the way you treat the employee …

You don’t necessarily have to pay for pre-Work activities

07/01/2007

Employers have struggled to figure out exactly when they must pay employees for pre-work activities ever since the U. S. Supreme Court decided that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires paying workers for the time they spend putting on protective clothing. It’s not enough to say that the time must be of benefit to the employer …

To be safe, always double-Check supervisor’s allegations

07/01/2007

When it comes to discharging an employee, be careful not to simply accept a supervisor’s opinion of the employee’s performance. If the supervisor is effectively hiding an underlying problem with persons belonging to a protected class and you don’t check for yourself whether the employee deserves to lose the job, you may end up costing the company money …

No double recovery under federal and state law

07/01/2007

Good news for government employers: Employees who sue for discrimination under both the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act don’t get to collect double damages …