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Compensation & Benefits

Draft benefit-plan documents can be legal

10/01/2002
A brokerage firm employee was seriously injured in a car accident while driving drunk. He applied for coverage under the company’s accidental death and dismemberment policy, but his claim was denied …

Casual comments put you on FMLA notice

10/01/2002
Reginald Moore, a security-guard supervisor at a Virginia courthouse, told his boss he needed time off to care for his wife who had emphysema. A few months later, Moore said he …

Politics at work: Know state law on voting leave, political speech

10/01/2002
Federal laws are silent on the issue, but 31 states require private companies to give employees time off to vote if the polls are closed during the employee’s off-work time. …

Employee/contractor question hinges on employer control

10/01/2002
Katherine Kerr, a television stage manager, worked on a free-lance basis for a production company, which provided broadcast personnel to TV stations. After a few years on the job, the production …

Don’t silence or punish workers who compare their pay

09/01/2002
A marketing director at one of Covenant Care’s nursing facilities attended a meeting of other marketing directors in the company. During the meeting, she joined other directors in a brief discussion …

Don’t fire workers to trim health costs

09/01/2002
During Kathy Smith’s first year in a customer service job, her husband was diagnosed with heart disease and her son with water on the brain. Treatment was covered under the firm’s …

Challenge workers’ comp claim based on personal problems, gossip

09/01/2002
While working as a bus driver and instructor for a school district, Carrie Geredes had a not-so-private affair with a co-worker. After the affair ended, she heard that her former lover …

Military service counts toward FMLA eligibility

09/01/2002
Ordinarily, workers are eligible for unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) after working for at least 12 months at a company and clocking at least 1,250 hours …

Comp Time for Exempt Workers: A Slippery Slope

09/01/2002

Q. Is it legal to give our full-time, salaried employees extra time off from work due to meetings and extra workload responsibilities? —C.E., West Virginia

Sleeping on the job doesn’t pay–this time

09/01/2002
The manager of a group home was required to work a regular, eight-hour day and remain at the home overnight. He was paid for a standard, 40-hour workweek and sued, alleging …