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North Carolina

Prompt response key in hostile environment cases

08/28/2009

Employers that quickly respond to employee sexual harassment and hostile environment complaints cut their liability.

DOL’s blueberry farm investigation bears fruit

08/28/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor has cited nine blueberry farms and 17 labor contractors for violations of child labor laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The farms and contractors operated in Bladen and Craven counties.

Stanley Furniture settles racial harassment suit

08/28/2009

Virginia-based Stanley Furniture has settled a racial harassment suit filed by three employees at the furniture manufacturer’s former plant in Lexington.

Tidewater area boasts most centralized job market

08/28/2009

The metropolitan area encompassing North Carolina suburbs of the Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Hampton Roads region is the most centralized large employment center in the nation, according to a Brookings Institution report titled “Job Sprawl Revisited: The Changing Geography of Metropolitan Employment.”

Health & safety: Understanding North Carolina’s OSHA law

08/28/2009

In 1970, the federal government passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Then in 1973, North Carolina passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina (OSHANC). The North Carolina act has its own administrative and review procedures that aren’t always similar to its federal counterpart.

What’s the latest on the employment of immigrants in the Carolinas?

08/28/2009

Q. My company has about 80 employees spread among four stores in Charlotte and upstate South Carolina. Business is rebounding, and we expect 10 to 15 new hires in the next few months. Proposed changes in immigration laws are often in the news. Is there anything new I should know?

What should we do? We may need to terminate one of our founding partners

08/28/2009

Q. My company, a North Carolina corporation, has only four employees, all of whom are equal shareholders. We don’t have employment contracts. May three of us decide to terminate the employment of the other, a 25% shareholder?

Is it possible to reduce everyone’s hours without running afoul of the law?

08/28/2009

Q. In an effort to avoid laying off employees in this tough economy, our company has decided to temporarily reduce everyone’s work hours to 35 hours per week. May we?

Preventing identity theft: 6 steps to protect employees’ data

08/11/2009

Employers have a duty to protect their employees from identity theft. The federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) says employers that negligently or purposely let employees’ personally identifiable data fall into the wrong hands can face fines of up to $2,500 per infraction. Here are six tips on developing a data security strategy:

Is it time to overhaul your vacation policies?

08/07/2009

Take a look around your workplace. How many of your co-workers spent all summer right there at their stations? Maybe they took a long weekend or two, but otherwise they showed up day in and day out. It might be time to make those drudges get out and go on vacation.