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Employment Law

Tide turns against employees who sue over stock-based retirement funds that lose money

04/19/2010

Lately, employees have been winning when they sue over profit-sharing or retirement plans based on company stock that rapidly lost investment value. In the wake of the Enron bankruptcy scandal, juries sympathized with workers who paid the price for lousy (or illegal) management. Now, employers are gaining the upper hand again, as courts recognize that companies are often in a no-win situation when it comes to providing stock information.

Of driving time and computer connections: 9th Circuit revisits before- and after-work pay

04/19/2010
Last year we told you about a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on whether time employees spend commuting to a remote job site was compensable time. The court ruled that under both California law and the FLSA, driving a company car from an employee’s home to his first job location of the day was not work time but was instead unpaid commuting time. Well, now the same 9th Circuit panel has changed its ruling …

Let employees dress at home to cut FLSA risk

04/19/2010
Here’s a simple risk-reduction measure for employers that require employees to wear a uniform they need to put on before the start of a shift. You can reduce your chances of being on the losing end of a wage-and-hour lawsuit by giving employees the option to suit up at home.

Workers hired through temp service? Normal anti-discrimination rules still apply

04/19/2010
Warn supervisors and managers: They should treat temporary workers who come to you via an employment service or agency just like they do other employees. All the normal rules on workplace discrimination still apply. That means temps who experience harassment or discrimination may be able to sue both the temp agency and your company for that discrimination.

Can we charge worker a fee for lost paychecks?

04/16/2010
Q. One of our employees is constantly misplacing things, like his W-2 forms and his checks. It’s getting annoying. Can we make him pay a fee? We’re thinking this might make him more careful.

Miami-Dade enacts ‘wage theft’ ordinance

04/15/2010

Miami-Dade County employers now have another reason to properly classify employees: On March 1, failure to pay an employee wages he or she is due became “wage theft.” The ordinance is the first of its kind in the nation. According to a county statement, the intent is to allow employees a forum to quickly address pay issues without joining a federal class-action lawsuit.

Train front office to act fast when legal papers arrive

04/15/2010

As an HR professional, you know you can’t ignore legal documents. But what if a new secretary doesn’t know she should forward legal papers to HR, or the papers end up in the in-box of an absent manager? Missing deadlines in those legal documents can mean losing the lawsuit before it really begins.

Diabetes may be serious, but isn’t always a disability

04/15/2010

Employees who have diabetes and take insulin may claim to be disabled. And employers frequently make accommodations to help diabetic employees control their conditions. That doesn’t mean, however, that every diabetic will be able to show he’s disabled under the ADA.

Minimize chance of retaliation suit by insulating new boss from past bias claims

04/15/2010

It often makes sense to offer a fresh start to an employee who claims discrimination. By settling her case and moving her to another position, she gets a chance to begin again, and the employer gets a chance to avoid a potentially expensive lawsuit. To make the move effective, make sure that any new supervisors don’t know about the bias complaint.

Follow these best practices for tracking initial discrimination complaints

04/15/2010

Smart employers carefully track complaints to show that they respond quickly to alleged discrimination and treat it seriously. Done properly, a tracking system gives you ammunition if you ever need it in court. Here are some best practices for handling complaints: