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Compensation & Benefits

Ensure handbook doesn’t make FMLA promises you can’t keep

08/13/2008
An Indiana employer must now respond to charges it misled employees when it promised FMLA benefits in its handbook, even though the company is too small to be covered by the FMLA. The case, recently decided by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, shows the problems that arise when employers promise more than they are willing to deliver in their employee handbooks …

Keep exact timecards, or court will use worker’s estimate

08/13/2008
Here’s an incentive to make sure you account for every hour your nonexempt employees work: If an employee claims you didn’t pay her what you were supposed to, and you don’t have accurate time records, the court will calculate what you owe based on the number of hours the employee tells the court she worked …

O’Hare immigrant workers file back-Wages suit

08/13/2008
A group of temporary ground workers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has filed an unpaid wages lawsuit against eight companies, including its employment agency, Ideal Staffing Solutions of Bensenville.  

Same-Sex marriage and employee benefits in Minnesota

08/12/2008
In light of the recent California Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages in that state and legislation in Massachusetts that, in effect, legalizes same-sex marriages, Minnesota employers may wonder whether they now must provide benefits to same-sex partners of employees who were married in those two states. The short answer seems to be no …

Salaries Expected to Grow in ’09 Despite Sluggish Economy

08/12/2008
Despite the economic gloom that’s dominated the headlines for the last year, there’s a ray of hope for employees—and perhaps a sign that employers are bullish on business prospects for 2009. A pair of new surveys shows that employers are proceeding with plans to pay their workers more next year.

Can we ask current employees to sign noncompete agreements?

08/12/2008
Q. Is it possible for an employer in Minnesota to enter into an enforceable noncompete agreement with an existing employee? …

Can severance agreement rule out seeking unemployment comp?

08/12/2008
Q. In exchange for severance benefits, we would like a departing employee to promise not to file a claim for unemployment compensation. Can this be a term of our severance agreement? …

Must we provide time off to attend the Republican National Convention?

08/12/2008
Q. An employee who has used all his paid time off has asked for a leave of absence to attend the Republican National Convention. He is a delegate. Are we required to grant the leave? …

Can we withhold accrued vacation pay if employee doesn’t give two weeks’ notice?

08/12/2008
Q. Our company policy is to not pay an employee for unused vacation time if the employee resigns without giving the required two weeks’ notice. A former employee has challenged this policy and is threatening to take the company to court. Is this policy lawful? …

Develop procedures for breaks that accommodate disabilities

08/12/2008
Sometimes, employees with disabilities may need additional breaks as reasonable accommodations. But you don’t have to leave the timing or duration of the breaks entirely to the employee. If you do, it will be hard to tell whether the employee is taking a legitimate and necessary accommodations break or simply taking advantage of additional freedom. And that can lead to litigation …