• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

FMLA leave-taker slipping? Fire away, with justification

08/28/2009

Of course, employees have the right to take protected FMLA leave. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take action you already planned to take for other legitimate reasons before you found out the employee needed FMLA leave.

Prompt response key in hostile environment cases

08/28/2009

Employers that quickly respond to employee sexual harassment and hostile environment complaints cut their liability.

DOL’s blueberry farm investigation bears fruit

08/28/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor has cited nine blueberry farms and 17 labor contractors for violations of child labor laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The farms and contractors operated in Bladen and Craven counties.

Stanley Furniture settles racial harassment suit

08/28/2009

Virginia-based Stanley Furniture has settled a racial harassment suit filed by three employees at the furniture manufacturer’s former plant in Lexington.

Health & safety: Understanding North Carolina’s OSHA law

08/28/2009

In 1970, the federal government passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Then in 1973, North Carolina passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina (OSHANC). The North Carolina act has its own administrative and review procedures that aren’t always similar to its federal counterpart.

What’s the latest on the employment of immigrants in the Carolinas?

08/28/2009

Q. My company has about 80 employees spread among four stores in Charlotte and upstate South Carolina. Business is rebounding, and we expect 10 to 15 new hires in the next few months. Proposed changes in immigration laws are often in the news. Is there anything new I should know?

What should we do? We may need to terminate one of our founding partners

08/28/2009

Q. My company, a North Carolina corporation, has only four employees, all of whom are equal shareholders. We don’t have employment contracts. May three of us decide to terminate the employment of the other, a 25% shareholder?

Is it possible to reduce everyone’s hours without running afoul of the law?

08/28/2009

Q. In an effort to avoid laying off employees in this tough economy, our company has decided to temporarily reduce everyone’s work hours to 35 hours per week. May we?

Warn bosses: Bankruptcy won’t stop wage claims

08/26/2009

The Fair Labor Standards Act says some managers may be held personally liable for unpaid wages, independent of the company’s obligation to pay. Not even a company bankruptcy halts individual liability.

No joint employer liability under ERISA

08/26/2009

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires employers to follow the terms of their collective bargaining agreements when they contribute to employee benefit plans. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to extend the concept of “joint employer” to ERISA’s collective bargaining agreement provision when the second entity has not signed that agreement.