Legal Issues

Know your obligations to returning soldiers

August 1, 2004
Over the last year, many employers have learned firsthand the provisions of USERRA, the federal law that protects the jobs of workers called to military duty. Here’s a primer:

No ‘career employees’

July 1, 2004
In the current climate of downsizing, frequent turnover and free-agent workers, nobody talks about “career employees” anymore. This is actually a good legal practice, say employment law experts.

Make the most of your employee handbook

July 1, 2004
There’s no law in the U.S. that says an organization must provide its workers with an employee handbook. Yet many employers find that a carefully written handbook not only simplifies employee communication but improves workers’ morale and productivity.

Legal Matters

June 1, 2004
Smoke-free workplace rules … The law and small business …

Overtime rules: What you need to know

May 1, 2004
After months of controversy, the U.S. Department of Labor this spring readied for release the final version of its new rules governing eligibility for overtime pay.

Legal Matters

April 1, 2004
Avoid “mixed-motive” suits … Is employment really “at will”?

Legal Matters

March 1, 2004
Breast cancer and the ADA … Religion vs. sexuality at work …

Legal Matters

February 1, 2004
Helping victims of violence … Common-law torts at work …

Legal Matters

January 1, 2004
Bias against younger workers? … California harassment rules …

 

The hard truth by ‘Z’: When employees become legal schemers

November 1, 1998
Most of my employees are hard workers who keep their priorities straight. They don’t have time for distractions. They’re too busy producing results, making money and having fun. But I’ve occasionally squared off against what I call “petty plotters.” They’re the ones who find ways to avoid their work—from threatening to sue the firm on trumped-up charges to stretching federal or state labor laws to the limit.