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North Carolina

Who pays for pre-Employment medical exams?

04/01/2008
Q. We require new employees to undergo pre-employment medical exams. May we require a new employee to cover the cost of the exam? We have 35 employees …

Are noncompete agreements enforceable in the medical profession?

04/01/2008
Q. I run a physician’s group, and one of our new doctors has informed me that a noncompetition agreement for physicians is unenforceable in North Carolina. Is that true? …

Double dipping? Severance payments and unemployment compensation

04/01/2008
Q. May a terminated employee receiving payments under a severance agreement also receive unemployment benefits? …

Deducting stolen funds from paychecks

04/01/2008
Q. My company terminated an employee suspected of stealing from her cash drawer. May we subtract the missing amount from her final paycheck? …

N.C. employers face greater risk of punitive damages

03/01/2008
In a pair of surprising decisions, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld large punitive damages awards against employers that juries said violated the ADA. The cases are significant because the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has long been considered the most conservative court in the nation—and a safe haven for employers …

Former employees can sue for retaliation, too

03/01/2008
Until recently, courts generally have ruled that retaliation applies only to current employees. But thanks to a recent 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which covers North Carolina employers, it’s now clear that former employees can sue for post-discharge actions when their claims involve the Fair Labor Standards Act …

Make sure you fairly distribute dangerous assignments

03/01/2008
Are some assignments within your organization more dangerous than others?  Make sure you don’t dump those duties on members of a protected class. Instead, distribute those tasks evenly so no one can claim he or she was singled out for hazardous assignments because of race, national origin or some other protected characteristic …

No need to ‘Totally’ accommodate religious practices

03/01/2008
When it comes to providing employees with the time they need to practice their religion, the key word is “reasonable,” not “total.” An employer doesn’t have to bend over backward to provide all the time off an employee’s religion may demand if doing so creates morale problems among co-workers who have to pick up the slack …

Discrimination claims harder for employees to make if bias is ancient history

03/01/2008
Just because an employee experienced unfair treatment years ago doesn’t mean you have to ignore recent poor performance. You can discipline the employee as long as the charges are fair, accurate and unbiased now …

Sued for injury? Check if workers’ comp paid out

03/01/2008
If your company is sued by someone other than your own employee for an injury that occurred on your premises, it’s worth finding out if the injured person collected any money under workers’ comp. That can easily happen if the person was traveling on business. Here’s why you should check …