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Compensation & Benefits

Don’t consider FMLA absences when firing

12/11/2008

Employers can’t punish or otherwise hold it against employees for taking FMLA leave—that’s interfering with FMLA rights, and it’s illegal. That’s why it’s important to exclude FMLA leave when making any disciplinary decisions based on employee absences.

Courts taking critical look at prevailing-wage standards

12/11/2008

Are you in an industry affected by Illinois’ prevailing-wage laws? If so, note that the courts are beginning to recognize cracks in the way the Illinois Department of Labor sets those wages.

Half-staff calls for time-and-a-half?

12/11/2008

Forced to cut some 180 employees to make budget, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) sent an e-mail requesting remaining employees to work overtime to manage its caseload. The union that represents DCFS staff called the idea “nonsensical” and refused the request.

After sneak peek at budget, commission recoils in fear

12/09/2008

It has been said that nothing can make or break a presentation like a good graphic. The chart that state House and Senate analysts recently showed members of the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy certainly made an impression.

Must we offer severance payments?

12/09/2008

Q. It looks like it will be necessary for our company to lay off several employees. Can you tell me whether we are required to pay severance? If so, how much?

Stop ‘who said what’ lawsuits: Draft policy disavowing oral pay agreements

12/09/2008

Oral agreements concerning compensation and bonus payments can be enforced in court, and that can lead to tricky “who said what” legal problems. Those are problems you can easily prevent with the help of good legal counsel.

Florida workers’ comp premiums to drop again

12/09/2008

The workers’ compensation premiums Florida employers pay are set to drop for the sixth time in the past five years, and by a record amount. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty approved an 18.6% rate cut.

Florida Supreme Court sides with employees in fee dispute

12/09/2008

It just became more expensive for employers and their workers’ compensation carriers to handle workplace injuries. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that attorneys representing injured workers are entitled to “reasonable attorneys’ fees,” which can far exceed those set by the workers’ compensation statute.

‘Sunshine Troublemaker’ puts heat on school districts

12/09/2008

Encouraged by a victory in Polk County Circuit Court, Lakeland resident and public-records gadfly Joel Chandler submitted public records requests to the state’s 67 school districts demanding the names, addresses, ages and telephone numbers of every person covered by the districts’ health insurance plans.

Quit or fired? Answer affects whether you pay unemployment

12/09/2008

How an employer handles an employee who doesn’t show up for work can mean the difference between paying unemployment compensation and not being liable.