• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

You may have to agree to part-time schedule after employee returns from FMLA leave

01/13/2009

Employers may be in for a nasty shock if they assume that an employee who can’t return to work full time after taking FMLA leave doesn’t have the right to reinstatement. If they can perform the essential functions of their jobs on a part-time basis, then employers may have to agree to a reduced schedule.

Wal-Mart settles Minnesota W&H lawsuit for $54 million

01/13/2009

Wal-Mart agreed Dec. 9 to pay $54.25 million to settle a seven-year class-action lawsuit with roughly 100,000 current and former hourly employees in Minnesota. All things considered, that was a bargain.

Can we terminate now an employee who we know can’t return from FMLA leave?

01/13/2009

Q. We have an employee out on FMLA leave and have just learned that she will not be able to return to work when her FMLA entitlement expires. Should we go ahead and send her a termination notice now?

Can we forbid employees from sharing how much of a bonus they received?

01/13/2009

Q. My company asks employees who receive raises or discretionary bonuses not to discuss them with other employees. An employee recently took issue with this request and told me the company’s practice is illegal. Is that true?

Are employees obligated to keep wages and salaries confidential?

01/12/2009

Q. Can an employer prohibit employees from sharing confidential wage information with each other, such as rates of pay or the amount of wage increases?

Remind employees: Honesty required when applying for health insurance benefits

01/09/2009

Remind employees that they must be honest when filling out health insurance sign-up forms. Otherwise, they—and your company—may be sued later to recover the medical costs associated with undisclosed pre-existing conditions.

Review contract language before changing benefits

01/09/2009

If your organization has a collective-bargaining agreement with a union, you must make sure you check with counsel before you make any changes to benefits. In some cases, promises made in past contracts—such as a promise to provide retiree health benefits—may be a binding, vested promise that cannot be undone.

Buying a company’s assets? Liabilities may be included

01/09/2009

If your organization is in good fiscal shape in these tough times, top brass may be looking to snap up the assets of failed companies at bargain prices. Remind management that it may end up picking up liabilities such as unemployment insurance claims if it doesn’t structure the deal correctly.

Workers’ comp for unpaid interns?

01/09/2009

Q. A local college has asked our company to allow a student to work at one of our plants for credit this summer. The student would not be paid, which sounds like a great deal for the company. However, we are concerned about what would happen if the student were injured while interning. Would we be liable?

Don’t cave to telecommuting request if it won’t allow disabled employee to do job

01/09/2009

Sometimes, employees suggest telecommuting as an accommodation if they have temporary disabilities. Telecommuting may be possible for some kinds of jobs. But in other cases, the job itself may make telecommuting impossible.