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North Carolina

E-Verify to be mandatory for many N.C. employers

07/25/2011
On June 23, Gov. Bev Perdue signed legislation that requires private em­­ployers with at least 25 employees and all county and city governments to use the federal government’s online E-Verify system to verify that new hires are eligible to work in the United States.

Not everything workers post online is protected

07/25/2011

No doubt you have heard about the Facebook posting cases in which employers have been sued for punishing employees for their social net­work­­­ing activities. Some decisions make it seem like employees can post anything they want. Fortunately, that’s not true.

‘Feeling’ bias in NASCAR? Court says ‘no go’

07/25/2011
When employees carry a chip on their shoulders, they may see dis­crimination in acts that are simply nor­mal workplace behavior. For­tu­nately, courts won’t allow dis­crimi­nation cases to go to trial if they’re based on nothing more than vague “feelings.”

Settlement may mean higher pay for pharma firm’s N.C. women

06/23/2011

Pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca has agreed to settle a gender pay bias claim, and the consent decree that spells out the terms of the settlement could affect North Carolina women who work for the company. Under the settlement, 124 female pharmaceutical sales specialists will split $250,000.

Feds issue new tip-credit pooling rules

06/23/2011
Employers are now free to set the percentage of employee tips that can be placed in a tip pool. In years past, several court decisions conflicted with the U.S. Department of Labor’s position restricting the amount of tips an employer could require to be pooled.

KobeWieland pays $84,750 to settle ADA suit

06/23/2011
A North Carolina man whose job offer was rescinded when KobeWieland Copper Products discovered he was missing several fingers will receive $84,750 under the terms of a settlement brokered by the EEOC.

No self-defamation claim possible in North Carolina

06/23/2011
A former employee at a North Carolina Walmart has lost a novel claim that could have opened the litigation floodgates in North Carolina and destroyed the at-will employment concept. He sued, alleging he had been forced to reveal why he had been fired, which in effect amounted to self-defamation.

Employee is own lawyer? Don’t ignore the suit

06/23/2011

With more and more lawyers getting selective about the cases they take, em­ployees sometimes have to go it alone. Don’t ignore these pro se cases. Instead, get expert legal assistance. Often, courts will toss out dubious cases rather quickly.

When workers must wear special gear, beware lawsuit if you don’t pay for ‘donning & doffing’

06/23/2011
Employees who believe they haven’t been properly paid for the time they spend getting into and out of protective gear are engaging lawyers and filing class-action lawsuits.

Weigh liability limits when structuring company

06/23/2011

Think you can split your business into separate entities to avoid being covered by some laws like the FMLA—and maybe limit the amount employees can collect if they sue under Title VII? Think again. That won’t work if the entities retain a centralized management structure.