Protecting Employers Since 1985
September 2016 The Department of Labor recently paid $7 million to settle claims that it failed to pay DOL employees overtime for time they were “suffered or permitted to work,” dating back to 2006. The DOL is the government agency that enforces the FLSA’s requirements that employers pay minimum wage and overtime based on “hours…
Read MoreIt is common, if not standard, for most non-compete agreements to contain a clause that prohibits the covered employee from soliciting current employees to terminate their employment in order to accept employment with a competitor. In essence, it prohibits the departing employee from raiding his/her former employer’s valued employees. Until recently, the courts have never…
Read MoreNEW U.S. DOL WEBPAGE ABOUT MISCLASSIFICATION MYTHS: Government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Labor (“U.S. DOL”) continue to try to reign in companies that use independent contractors (and make it more high-risk for these companies to do so). In this spirit, the U.S. DOL recently established a controversial new page on its website…
Read MoreAlthough pregnancy itself is not a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, pregnancy-related conditions that substantially limit an employee’s major life activities, even temporarily, may entitle the employee to accommodations for her condition. If a pregnant employee states that she cannot work, or cannot perform certain job functions, employers should engage in an interactive…
Read MoreRegional Management-side Labor and Employment Law Firm seeks an Associate Attorney with a minimum of 2 years of increasingly responsible experience, for its Minneapolis office. Candidates should have excellent interpersonal, research and writing skills, a strong academic background and ability to work as part of a team. Experience in labor law and/or complex employment litigation…
Read MoreIn this case, American Airlines looks like a harsh and unreasonable employer. The Claimant was an American Airlines employee who was fired by American Airlines for merely helping a passenger obtain a seating upgrade and also giving the passenger some champagne for the flight. REASON AMERICAN AIRLINES WAS UPSET: American Airlines decided that the Claimant…
Read More1. Defunct Labor Contract? Construction industry employers are particularly vulnerable to this issue. It may not be defunct! A typical fact pattern is that years ago the contractor signed an assent agreement which typically has language binding them to successor agreements. Later, the company assumed that the contract was stale because they had employed no…
Read MoreTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law which prohibits employers (with at least 15 employees) from discriminating in the workplace based on such issues as religion. Title VII specifically forbids companies from any of the following actions concerning religion in the workplace: failing to hire or promote applicants or…
Read MoreThere are a vast number of employers who have had to deal with employee issues related, in some way, to an “employee disability”. There are very few situations arising under a workman’s compensation scenario that do not require the employer to make “reasonable accommodation” to an individual who is returning to work from a workman’s…
Read MoreIn springtime, it is a very good time for employers to give consideration of how to manage “office romances” and avoid potential liability that may result from them. Remember that in the current and constantly changing work environment, these “office romances” may not just involve the traditional male and female (they may involve two members…
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