• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

North Carolina

Don’t delay, even for one day! Assault allegations demand response ASAP

12/19/2012
Here’s a reminder for all supervisors and managers: Tell them they must spring into action immediately if an employee reports some form of sexual assault. There’s no waiting allowed—not even one day. Otherwise, a repeat performance the next day may create liability.

Read entire EEOC claim to understand full nature of employee’s complaint

12/19/2012

Employees must file an EEOC complaint before suing their employer over most forms of federally prohibited discrimination. Generally, any claims not included in the complaint don’t count. However, don’t assume that the only parts of the complaint form that matter are the checkmark boxes listing various forms of discrimination.

Back anti-harassment policy with robust training, enforcement

12/19/2012

It’s great that you have a hostile work environment policy in place and cover it in your training. But none of that will do you much good if supervisors remain oblivious. If hostile acts occur despite your policy, it won’t provide much protection. That’s why you must be proactive.

DOL: Raleigh restaurant must pay back wages

12/19/2012
Raleigh’s Dos Taquitos restaurant must fork over almost $50,000 in back pay to 26 employees the U.S. Department of Labor says were shortchanged.

SOX doesn’t protect safety whistle-blowers

12/19/2012
A federal court in North Carolina has refused to add another legal avenue disgruntled employees can use to sue. The court said even after recent amendments that expanded the scope of the law, the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act doesn’t protect whistle-blowers who report what they believe are serious safety violations at work.

Asking for workers’ comp isn’t ADA-protected

12/19/2012
The ADA protects disabled em­­ployees from retaliation for claiming their right to accommodation and freedom from discrimination. But it’s sometimes tough to prove disability under the ADA, requiring a fairly serious medical condition.

Motel cleaned up at housekeepers’ expense

11/30/2012
Veer Investments—which ­operates an America’s Best Value Inn & Suites motel in Charlotte—careened wildly off course when it decided to ignore almost all the basic requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Overtime settlement puts dent in body shop’s profit

11/30/2012
Jacksonville-based Brynn Marr Body Shop has agreed to settle overtime complaints filed by 15 employees, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Winston-Salem DQ not so sweet to teenage worker

11/30/2012
YS & J Enterprises Inc., operator of the Dairy Queen at the Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, will pay $17,500 to a former employee who was fired after she complained about sexual harassment by a male co-worker.

DOJ files USERRA complaint against Warren County schools

11/30/2012
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit against the Warren County Board of Education, claiming it ­violated the USERRA when it refused to reinstate an assistant principal, a 20-year veteran of the Army Reserve who had been called to active-duty service in Kuwait and Afghanistan.