HR Specialist: North Carolina Employment Law

Complex state and local laws in the Tar Heel State can give employers the blues. Aggressive attorneys don’t stop with federal laws like FMLA, ADA and FLSA: they use state and local living-wage statutes, rural codes, plus discrimination and other laws to sue employers for sky’s-the-limit damages. This North Carolina-specific newsletter arrives monthly to help sue-proof every aspect of HR. Written in plain English, it’s your insurance policy for staying in step with current interpretations of state and local laws – and staying out of court. Learn more about HR Specialist: North Carolina Employment Law and the free report you’ll get when you subscribe...

As Michael Setzer stuck a piece of cheese up his nose and placed it on the Domino’s sandwich he was preparing, he mugged for Kristy Hammonds’ camera. Then he passed gas on a piece of salami also destined for a customer’s sandwich.

After Hammonds’ video received more than 550,000 hits on YouTube, the pizza chain mobilized quickly to contain the damage.

Setzer and Hammonds’ foul flick cost them their jobs and probably a lot more. North Carolina takes restaurant food safety very seriously. Food tampering is a felony, and the star-struck sandwich saboteurs now potentially face jail time.

Thanks to food safety watchdogs who monitor the Internet, Domino’s quickly determined which North Carolina store was involved and fired the workers. Domino’s is also mulling a lawsuit.

Note: Workplace horseplay can easily get out of hand. Employers should train managers to rein in employee high spirits when it affects employee or customer safety. (Drafting a company policy that prohibits video recording in the workplace may also be a wise move.)