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Compensation & Benefits

Nov. 4 ballot initiatives may change Colorado employment law

10/07/2008

November’s election has special implications for Colorado employers because a number of ballot issues involve employment law. The ballot features dueling initiatives: four measures brought by organized labor in response to three measures sponsored by business interests …

OK to waive workers’ comp?

10/07/2008

Q. Can an employee waive coverage under workers’ comp laws? …

Holiday parties: Don’t let best of times become worst of times

10/07/2008

By exerting proper control over your holiday party this year, you can reduce everyone’s worries concerning the annual fete. Most important, careful planning will help your company avoid lawsuits as you ring in the New Year.

Can an employer deduct hours for employee meal breaks?

10/07/2008

Q. My company deducts 30 minutes from each day’s recorded time for employees’ meal periods. Is this proper? …

How can we avoid wage-and-hour class action lawsuits?

10/07/2008

Q. I keep hearing about wage-and-hour class actions, where workers claim they were not paid properly because they were misclassified as exempt, not paid for all hours or not paid the correct overtime rate. What can I do to minimize this risk? …

Bilingual employees invaluable to you? Don’t punish them for their special skills

10/06/2008

Texas has a large number of Spanish-speaking residents, and a workforce that can effectively communicate with those residents can be a prized commodity. But before you thrust additional work on Hispanic employees who can communicate with customers who don’t speak English well, consider the following case …

Reason prevails: No need to warn of obvious hazards

10/06/2008

Employers who don’t sign up for the Texas workers’ compensation system can be sued directly by employees who are injured on the job. But that doesn’t mean every workplace accident will result in a damaging lawsuit judgment …

Can someone who resigns get unemployment?

10/06/2008

Q. Is an employee who resigns entitled to receive unemployment compensation under Texas law? …

OK to fire slackers even if out on FMLA leave

10/06/2008

It’s a myth that being off on FMLA leave means an employee can’t be terminated. The employee can be—as long as the employer has good reasons for the termination. Being on FMLA leave doesn’t give someone immunity from being fired for incompetence …

Child support payments

10/06/2008

Q. Do we have to deduct child-support payments from employee wages? …