Employment Law

A California court has sentenced a company owner and a foreman to a year in jail for allowing unsafe working conditions that led to a roofer’s accidental death.

Some people will do anything to get out of work early, including lying about their child’s health. One employer did the smart thing and demanded proof when it became suspicious.

If you require employees to accept arbitration as a condition of employment, you can include a brief statement describing the plan in an acknowledgment. As long as the acknowledgment shows that the employee may read the entire arbitration agreement before signing, it doesn’t matter whether she actually does.

Beyond choosing the right positions for telework, employers must address important legal issues before adopting a telecommuting policy. Be prepared to consider how such a policy will be affected by the Fair Labor Stand­­ards Act, OSHA, the ADA, workers’ compensation rules, privacy concerns and tax laws.

If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim. Jathan Janove tells you how.

A worker who was fired after admitting to his employer that he filed Form SS-8 with the IRS to determine his status as an independent contractor or employee can continue his lawsuit for unpaid overtime, a federal trial court has ruled.

The EEOC received a record 99,922 charges in the 2010 fiscal year—the most the agency has received in its 45-year history. The 2010 totals represent a 7% increase over the number of charges filed in 2009. Given this sharp increase in charge activity, now is a good time to review your personnel policies and practices to make sure you’re taking appropriate steps to help prevent potential dis­crimination claims.

More employers are offering to let ­workers collect their pay on reloadable, prepaid bank cards. But make sure you know your state law: Most states prohibit employers from mandating that workers receive pay electronically.

Under the Equal Pay Act, em­­ployers can set different salaries based on geographically distinct job locations. In other words, you aren’t required to pay a manager in New York City the same as one in a lower-cost locale, even if the New York manager is male and the manager in the other location is female. Plus, any differences in responsibilities can help justify the difference.

The 2010 Small Business Jobs Act doubles the penalty—now $100, up from $50—for each missing or incorrect 2010 Form W-2 that is filed or corrected after Aug. 1, 2011.