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North Carolina

State bar expands nondiscrimination rule

11/30/2010
The North Carolina Bar Association has voted to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its list of protected classes in the Preamble to the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys. The change means North Carolina attorneys may not discriminate against clients because of sexual orientation.

Feds kick in $205 million for N.C. unemployment comp

11/30/2010

The U.S. Department of Labor has released $205,063,552 in federal funds to shore up North Carolina’s unemployment insurance plan. States that meet federal guidelines were eligible to receive the federal funds, appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

North Carolina again rated tops for business

11/30/2010

For the ninth time in the past 10 years, Site Selection magazine has named North Carolina the state with the nation’s best business climate. Every year, the magazine surveys site selectors—the people who help companies decide where to build new facilities—to get their take on how easy or hard it is to do business in each state.

Offer light-duty job to cut workers’ comp liability

11/30/2010
Employees injured on the job and collecting workers’ compensation payments can’t refuse suitable work within their restrictions. If they do, they lose their benefits.

Courts losing patience with frivolous lawsuits

11/30/2010

More and more employers are finding they have to defend against frivolous lawsuits. Both current and former applicants may file suit but don’t provide any details. Often, they are too poor to even pay the filing fees and ask the court to waive the costs. But courts are beginning to toss out such cases right away.

Do you work for a state agency? Know FMLA’s limitations on leave for self-care

11/30/2010
Because of a bedrock Constitutional principle, a court has ruled that the FMLA does not cover state government employees who want to take time off due to their own illness. Based on this decision, state employees can only use FMLA leave to care for others.

Check pay policies for massive lawsuit threat–simple underpayment can quickly balloon

11/30/2010

Make a small mistake in how you pay hourly employees, and the stakes can be quite high. Individually, a wage-and-hour claim may amount to just a few hundred dollars. But multiply an underpayment as small as $350 by 1,000 employees and now you’re looking at a $700,000 tab–that’s because courts routinely double unpaid wage awards in FLSA cases.

Higher workers’ comp fees next year for N.C. employers

11/30/2010
North Carolina employers will see their workers’ compensation premiums rise this coming spring when new rates take effect on April 1. The voluntary market rates will rise 0.6%, while the assigned risk pool will see a 4.1% increase.

Court orders medical record release in EEOC case

11/30/2010

Here’s a case that might make some employees think twice about going to the EEOC with a failure-to-hire complaint. A court has ruled that employers being sued by the EEOC have the right to review job applicants’ medical records—including mental health notes.

Physical therapy not always sign of disability

11/30/2010
Employees who need to take time off to attend physical therapy to deal with an injury may believe they’re disabled under the ADA. And they assume the time off must be a reasonable accommodation. That’s not necessarily true.