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Employment Law

In all promotion notices, include specifics about minimum job requirements

02/02/2010

It’s fairly common for promotion opportunities to attract lots of candidates—especially when the promotion offers a pay raise and the chance for additional job security. Don’t let that competition end in litigation. The best way to stay out of court: Be very specific about the minimum requirements candidates must meet to qualify for promotion.

Can I tell union organizers to hit the road?

02/02/2010

Q. If union organizers show up during the workday and demand to talk to my employees, can I tell them to get off company premises?

Exempt status: What counts as ‘discretion’?

02/02/2010

A simple mistake—wrongly classifying employees as exempt when they should be hourly—can easily balloon into a multimillion-dollar overtime lawsuit. Often, the trick is knowing which workers exercise enough discretion to be properly labeled administrative exempt professionals. Our exempt/nonexempt self-audit helps you make the call.

Anti-bias agency learns what it’s like to be sued

02/02/2010

The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination charges, has been sued over an allegedly negligent investigation.

8 questions help you make the contractor vs. employee call

02/01/2010

With the IRS beginning a nationwide crackdown on employers that try to dodge payroll taxes, now’s the time to make sure your workers are properly classified. Starting in February, IRS auditors began poring over the records of thousands of employers to root out organizations that try to cheat the system by calling workers contractors when they’re actually employees.

Bosses: When handling serial complainers, zip it

02/01/2010

For a few employees, every workplace problem has its roots in some kind of discrimination. They’re the ones who continually file bias complaints, and they’re a continual source of frustration for supervisors who must constantly fend off unfounded accusations. Warn those bosses that overreacting will only lead to more trouble.

Are your ‘admin’ workers really salespeople?

02/01/2010

It’s time to take a fresh look at how you classify your sales and administrative employees—because attorneys across New York will be on the lookout for good class-action lawsuits in the wake of a recent decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Whistle-blower retaliation just got more expensive in N.Y.

02/01/2010

A new state law significantly increases the penalties against employers that retaliate against whistle-blowers—by 1000%. Passed by the New York State Assembly last summer and enacted at the end of 2009, the new law sets the minimum fine for whistle-blower retaliation at $2,000.

Use objective criteria, transparent process to ensure promotions are fair for everyone

02/01/2010

If your promotion processes are haphazard—devoid of objective criteria and without a clear system for choosing candidates—you could wind up facing a disparate-impact discrimination lawsuit. That’s one powerful reason to institute a clear promotion policy that includes posting job openings, creating application processes and relying primarily on objective selection criteria.

Congratulations on the successful takeover! Now, how do you want those existing lawsuits?

02/01/2010

When one company buys another, it gets the good and the bad—including any lawsuits that may have already been filed against the bought-out entity. The acquiring company may be liable for pending Title VII discrimination claims, but that liability will probably be limited to back pay and other compensatory damages.