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Employment Law

What you need to know about Florida’s new Guns at Work Law

07/14/2008
Last April, the Florida Legislature passed the Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008. Many call it by a much less official name: the Guns at Work Law. The law expands employees’ rights to transport lawfully registered firearms in their vehicles even if they are traveling to work …

Is intermittent leave for childbirth OK? Only if you agree

07/11/2008
Here’s an uncommon FMLA question: Can a new father or mother return to work part time, taking intermittent FMLA leave? The surprising answer is no—unless the employer OKs it …

Consult attorney on union contract—Because every word counts

07/11/2008
If your organization just became a union shop, chances are you will soon be knee-deep in contract negotiations. Before you sit down and begin drafting language you think is reasonable, consider this: From now on, interpretation of workplace rules will probably be out of your hands and will rest with an arbitrator …

Investigate harassment even if employee complains belatedly

07/11/2008
What happens if an employee has tolerated mild harassment for years without complaining and then the behavior escalates? If the employee stops work, takes disability leave and then files a sexual harassment complaint, what should you do? …

Strong privacy policy can curtail rifling through files

07/11/2008
Employees who are involved in employment disputes often think they can simply gather up any evidence they find lying about and turn it over to their lawyers. Smart employers try to limit the damage that revealing such confidential information may bring by holding all employees to reasonable privacy and confidentiality rules …

Good news for less-Than-Perfect workplaces: No need to sweat the small stuff

07/11/2008
Employees sometimes unreasonably expect they will happily toil forever in a perfect workplace, full of harmony. But that simply isn’t going to happen. As long as squabbles and personality conflicts don’t turn into discrimination based on age, race, religion or another protected category, they simply don’t matter …

You can terminate employees on FMLA leave

07/11/2008
Employees who are in trouble often ask for FMLA leave. They seem to believe that asking for or taking FMLA leave protects them from disciplinary action. That’s a myth. The fact is, being on FMLA leave doesn’t protect employees from legitimate disciplinary action unrelated to their time off …

Gaming board compliance wars lead to suspension, lawsuit

07/11/2008
Patrick Devlin, a compliance officer for the Michigan Gaming Control Board and a former assistant attorney general, has a history of what the board has delicately termed “noncompliance.” Since 2003, Devlin has filed at least 19 grievance appeals with the Civil Service Commission …

Caution: Hiring applicant who signed noncompete spells trouble

07/11/2008
As noncompetition agreements become more and more popular with employers, it’s becoming easier for you to unknowingly hire someone who has already signed an agreement with a previous employer. All the ensuing complications lead more employers to ask themselves whether they should (or even can) legally hire an employee bound by a noncompete agreement with a former employer …

Using subcontractors during a strike

07/11/2008
Q. We are putting together a strike contingency plan. One option we have considered is subcontracting out certain jobs for the duration of a strike. Are we obligated to bargain with the union over subcontracting during a strike? Do we have to raise this issue with the union before the union goes out on strike? …