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North Carolina

Cold response to accommodation request puts firm in hot water

10/01/2013
Rose Hill-based House of Raeford Farms faces an EEOC disability discrimination suit after it fired a worker who requested a transfer to accommodate her disability.

Courts cut slack for employees who act as their own lawyers

10/01/2013
When a former employee sues and decides to represent himself in court, expect an expensive case. That’s be­­cause courts typically give so-called pro se litigants every benefit of the doubt, since they don’t have attorneys to guide them (or tell them their cases don’t have a chance).

Review whether partially disabled employees can be removed from workers’ comp

10/01/2013

Do you have former employees collecting both workers’ compensation and partial disability benefits for an on-the-job injury? Thanks to a recent Court of Appeals of North Carolina decision, now is a good time to see if they may no longer be eligible for those workers’ comp benefits.

Upset you didn’t get the job? Well, did you apply for it?

10/01/2013
Here’s a common-sense ruling: Applicants and employees can’t simply assume they won’t get a job and then sue when the self-fulfilling prophesy comes true. They must make an effort to get the job when it’s clear how to apply.

Elevator company settles with shafted employee

10/01/2013
Schindler Elevator Corp. has agreed to settle an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit filed after it laid off a black elevator mechanic from its Charlotte office, even though he was rated higher than almost all his white co-workers who were retained.

Don’t let court take employee’s word on hours

10/01/2013
Here’s a case that should send chills down your spine if you don’t keep meticulous records of every hour worked. A court has allowed a case to proceed based on little more than a worker’s vague allegation that she wasn’t paid overtime for hours in excess of 40 per week.

Faith events require reasonable accommodation

10/01/2013
Employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their religious needs, which can include time off to attend religious services. The key is reasonable. If you can document that, under the circumstances, a request is unreasonable, you don’t have to make the accommodation.

Sometimes it’s best to settle drawn-out cases

09/10/2013
Some lawsuits seem to drag on forever, especially when an em­­ployee’s lawyers endlessly demand access to company documents. Settling those cases for a modest sum may be the best approach if l­itigation is taking over and HR is so busy responding to discovery requests it can’t get other work done.

Your best bet for beating false allegations: Good records, consistently fair practices

09/10/2013
You can never predict which employee will sue and over what alleged wrong. That’s why the best approach is to focus on treating every employee fairly and consistently, applying your rules even-handedly.

When competition might come from within, keep employees honest

08/28/2013
It’s a situation that happens more often than you might think: An em­ployer finds out that one of its em­ployees is preparing to leave and set up her own shop. But is the employer handcuffed, un­able to do anything about the up­start competitor because this employee didn’t sign a noncompe­tition agreement?