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Employment Law

Psychiatric Records Off-Limits in Certain Investigations

12/01/2006

When a Florida employee seeks workers’ compensation, your organization doesn’t have unlimited access to his or her medical information to challenge that request …

One simple mistake can entitle workers to UI benefits

12/01/2006

When you terminate an employee for refusing to accept a schedule change, that person typically isn’t eligible for unemployment compensation. But if your organization makes one little mistake in such circumstances, it could be on the hook for benefits …

Co-Worker’s flirtation isn’t sexual harassment

12/01/2006

Casting admiring glances or making other such flirtatious gestures toward a co-worker isn’t sexual harassment under the Florida Civil Rights Act. That law doesn’t require employers to guarantee that employees won’t ever look at each other in a way perceived as a "come-on" …

Chasing thief off-Site? Injury earns workers’ comp

12/01/2006

Generally, workers’ compensation won’t cover Florida employees when they’re injured after leaving the workplace. But that’s not the case if the employee left the premises in an emergency to save life or property related to the business …

Secondary employer isn’t responsible for FMLA notice, leave

12/01/2006

If you use leased employees, you’re not required to manage their FMLA leave. That’s the leasing company’s responsibility as the person’s primary employer …

Review your severance packages; EEOC tightening scrutiny

12/01/2006

When employers offer severance packages, they often ask employees to waive their rights to sue the employer. That’s a smart strategy, but small discrepancies in the agreement’s wording can make the difference between a successful severance package and a call from the EEOC …

Be prepared to back up hours worked for exempt staff, too

12/01/2006

You carefully track all hours worked by nonexempt employees. But do you know how many hours your exempt employees work? That can become a problem if you misclassify an employee as exempt when the person should have been hourly …

Prepare to pay overtime to more delivery drivers

12/01/2006
You no longer can rely on the "motor carrier exemption" in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to avoid paying overtime to delivery drivers who use vans and pickup trucks on their routes.

Employers can be liable for harassing customers, too

12/01/2006

Employees have the legal right to work in a harassment-free environment, and employers must take corrective measures to end harassment when it comes to their attention. It doesn’t matter that the harassment comes from customers or others the employer has no control over …

Build a Sturdy ‘Escape Hatch’ Into Your Organization’s Discipline Policy

12/01/2006

Does your employee handbook outline a progressive discipline process and also include a contract disclaimer? If so, you may think the disclaimer prevents employees from claiming that the discipline policy was a "contract" that can’t be skipped over in favor of instant termination. But you’d be wrong …