Employment Law Cases

The carrot and the stick are the oldest management tools known to humankind.  Sometimes, business leaders want to use money (one of the primary carrots) as a stick by withholding from employees as an inducement to get behavior they want. In the wage and hour world, these sorts of tactics can create legal problems. Some of the legal problems that can arise are wage payment claims for current employees and failure to pay wages appropriately claims for terminated employees. Although those issues are troubling, the focus today is on using money to manage (or control) employees exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here are two quick tips to be sure you are not falling into the “Money Management” syndrome:

1.         Don’t require exempt employees to take vacation time when they leave early or come in late: Federal wage and hour law requires employers to pay exempt employees a salary. For your compensation system to meet that test, you may not make deductions from an employee’s salary for a partial day absence. Be careful here, if you require the employee to take vacation (or paid time off) for these partial day absences, you are violating the law as well.
 
2.         Don’t vary the amount the employee is paid (increase and decrease) based on the amount of time the employee works for the amount of work produce: Many employers want to incentivize their employees by giving more money for more work and take away money as a form of punishment. Although increasing a salary on this basis is proper under wage and hour law, decreasing the compensation is not.

In the end, the reason you make employees exempt is so you don’t have to pay them overtime. The trade off is that the employee is entitled to a consistent salary basis of payment. If you violate this salary basis of payment, then you lose the exemption and you could owe thousands of dollars in overtime compensation plus penalties and attorney’s fees. Money is a great motivator. It can’t be a manager for your exempt employees.

It is common for people to go their entire lives without dealing with an employment attorney. Yet there are many times when these helpers can make all the difference in getting what you want from a job. You might want to consult a legal specialist before, during, or after employment.

Before you are officially hired, there may be several factors to consider before you sign the contract. It is important to know whether the document the company is requiring you to sign is actually legal, both in your state and at the federal level. An employment attorney will help you to understand all the conditions you are agreeing to in the contract as well.

The best time to negotiate a severance package is as you are being hired. People these days are less likely to stay with one company from young adulthood through retirement. Therefore, you should make plans based on the very real possibility that you may change companies at some point.

A specialist in employment law will help you lay out what you expect of the company if you are forced to leave. The contract can be settled in a way that allows you the greatest protection in terms of reasons the company can fire you or lay you off without paying this severance package.

While you are on the job, you might also have legal issues in the workplace. Your employment attorney can help you fight harassment in the workplace. You may be facing discrimination in terms of racism, sexism, ageism, or because of some disability. Employment law deals with all these scenarios and strives to put you on an equal footing with others in the office.

If you decide to leave a company, you can benefit from consulting an employment attorney to develop a plan for your departure. Your legal expert can help you bargain with the employer, or bring suit if the employer is being unreasonable. You will have to work out details like whether a non-competition clause will be enforced and what trade secrets you are bound to keep.

In cases where you are not given a choice as to whether you will be leaving, you may need an employment attorney most of all. This legal professional can help you determine if your firing or layoff was done according to fair employment practices. The best result may be to get your job back, but you may have to settle for a generous severance package.

An employment attorney can change the course of your career. With the right help, you can get the fair treatment, benefits, and understanding that will help you succeed. There is no reason to avoid legal help when it can do so much for you.

A victim of an accident or other mishap while working on the job must get the legal representation of a worker’s compensation lawyer in order to help them file the appropriate claims against their employer or the state worker’s compensation system. Although the employee may have some concern that he or she is jeopardizing their job, this is sometimes your only recourse. Therefore, finding a suitable worker’s compensation attorney should be your fist course of action after receiving intial treatment for your injuries.

Your lawyer will know exactly what you should be entitled to as they will have spent many long years learning the complexities of your states worker’s compensation system, including what type of compensation is available, and who bears responsibility for the costs of these injuries. The first thing you will need to do is locate an attorney who is competent in the field of employment law and worker’s compensation in your state. Personal qualifications are as important as your attorney’s knowledge of this specific area of the law, so you will need someone who you feel confident will handle this matter appropriately and with complete competence.

Any on the job accident that may happen to someone can vary from an automobile mishap, a slip or fall, or a construction site or manufacturing plant injury. A qualified attorney will provide many services to the injured worker including gathering all of the necessary information, and preparing all the necessary paperwork in order to get the claims process started. Your attorney will then follow up by appearing at all hearings and meetings required to further your worker’s compensation rights.

Your attorney will also understand all of the complexities involved including any medical issues relating to your case. There will always be several factors in determining what type of compensation you may be entitled too, and how your attorney will have to proceed to maximize your recovery. The chance of you winning a compensation case without the enormous experience that you will get from a worker’s compensation lawyer is small and even if you do, will you get as much as you deserve?

You may also be concerned about the legal fees in this matter. Many injured employees will fail to pursue a legitimate claim because of these fee concerns. This should generally not be a concern with a worker’s compensation cases, as most worker’s compensation attorneys will usually pursue you claim on a contingency fee basis. This means that they will not charge any fees up front, but will collect a percentage of any money which you are awarded. In some states this percentage fee may even be capped, allowing you to maximize your recovery.

First and foremost, when choosing a worker’s compensation attorney, do you homework. Make sure that you do as much research on the internet as you can, and always meet with and interview an attorney before signing any binding agreement.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (”GINA”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. Congress passed it in recognition that there are great opportunities for medical advancement from sequencing the human genome and other genetic advances. However, those advances are threatened by the potential for employers and health insurance companies to misuse genetic information to discriminate. Congress noted the historical discrimination and oppression of individuals who were presumed to have genetic “defects,” specifically mentioning mental retardation, mental disease, epilepsy, blindness, and hearing loss in the statute. Congress also recognized the prevalence of genetic discrimination in the workplace.

As it applies to the context of the workplace, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act makes it unlawful to use genetic information as a reason to refuse to hire or fire, or to discriminate against any employee with respect to compensation or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It also prohibits employers from using genetic information to limit, segregate, or classify employees in a way that deprives employees of job opportunities, or otherwise adversely affects them. With limited exceptions, it also prohibits employers from seeking genetic information regarding an employee or a family member.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act also prohibits retaliation, by making it illegal to discriminate against anyone who opposes a violations of the Act. It also requires employers that have genetic information about an employee to maintain that information in a separate confidential medical file, and limits an employer’s right to provide genetic information about an employee to anyone else.

GINA defines “genetic information” to include a disease or disorder of an individual’s family member, as well as information revealed in an individual’s genetic tests or genetic tests of an individual’s family member, other than information about gender or age. It defines “family member” very broadly, including any dependent, and any first, second, third, or fourth-degree relative.

An individual who prevails in an employment case under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act case potentially receive damages for lost salary and benefits, as well as emotional distress damages, attorneys fees, and costs of litigation. Like many other federal employment discrimination laws, an individual who has a claim under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act must file a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) and receive the “right to sue” before he or she can file a federal lawsuit.

President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008. The statute had previously passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a 414 to 1 vote. Upon the President signing it, GINA went into effect immediately.