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Insurance

The legal risks of employee loitering: How ‘Hanging around’ can hang you out to dry

09/01/2007

Here’s another good reason (beyond overtime-pay risks) to discourage employees from hanging around before or after their shifts: If they get hurt, they may be able to sue you directly, rather than going through the workers’ comp system. Here’s how to avoid this legal hazard.

Georgia law requires issuing DOL-800 forms for all separations

09/01/2007

Q. It has always been our practice to issue separation notices only when we involuntarily discharge or lay off an employee, but our new plant manager believes we have to issue them even when an employee resigns voluntarily. What’s the rule? …

Clear Work Rules—Like a No-Lying Policy—Help Employers Beat Unemployment Comp Claims

09/01/2007

One of the most important moves Pennsylvania employers can make to cut unwarranted unemployment compensation liability is to establish clear work rules. Those rules should include a requirement that all employees act honestly. Explain to all employees that violating the honesty rule is grounds for termination …

No unemployment for substitute teachers who turn down equivalent positions

09/01/2007

Employees who work for educational institutions on a temporary basis from semester to semester—substitute teachers, for example—may be eligible for unemployment compensation if they are offered a substantially different position (with lower pay) the next term. But if the new assignment is essentially the same as the previous assignment, they can’t refuse the offer and receive unemployment compensation …

State looking to end-Run ERISA on health care

09/01/2007

The state of Pennsylvania is looking for a way to force employers to pay their share of health care costs without running afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) …

Don’t like bad press? Don’t take up government work

09/01/2007

Joseph Rosenfeld, a former community affairs assistant to the mayor of Allentown, lost a workers’ compensation claim for psychological damage he said he suffered because of bad press over his job performance. Rosenfeld was the subject of some 30 newspaper articles in 1996 alleging he had used his political clout to stop the relocation of a bus terminal to financially benefit his family …

Unpaid intern not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits

08/01/2007

Employees who are hurt on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, and so are some volunteers. But unpaid interns don’t meet either definition …

Florida high court sides with employees—Employers liable for unconcealed negligence

08/01/2007

The Florida Supreme Court has upheld an employee’s right to sue his or her employer directly for intentional torts even when the same employee receives workers’ comp for the injury …

Temporary staffing agencies benefit from turning over control

08/01/2007

Workers’ compensation benefits are the exclusive remedy for employees hurt on the job … unless a third party causes their injuries …

Employee or independent contractor? For workers’ comp, commission is last word

08/01/2007

Independent contractors aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits paid by their contractor’s insurer, but employees are …