Employment Laws

Employment law covers all rights and obligations within the employer-employee relationship — whether current employees, job applicants, or former employees. Because of the complexity of employment relationships and the wide variety of situations that can arise, employment law involves legal issues as diverse as discrimination, wrongful termination, wages and taxation, and workplace safety. Many of these issues are governed by applicable federal and state law. This is FindLaw’s collection of Employment Laws articles, part of the Human Resources section of the Corporate Counsel Center. Law articles in this archive are predominantly written by lawyers for a professional audience seeking business solutions to legal issues. Start your free research with FindLaw.

Human Resources

Employment Laws Articles

Employee Use of Force: The Oregon Court of Appeals Instructs Employers

A new decision of the Oregon Court of Appeals on employer responsibility for employee use of force provides guidance for employers. The case, Bray v. American Property Management Corp., arose out of the stabbing death of a bakery owner. The stabbing ...
Read More »
Employees May have Insurance Continuation Rights Under Both Cobra and the Illinois Insurance Code

Most employers are familiar with the federal Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA), but few may be aware of their obligations under the Illinois Insurance Code. Employers with 20 or more employees must comply with COBRA, while all ...
Read More »
Employees would rather have Better Benefits than Higher Salaries

Contrary to our own personal observations, a recent survey shows that over half of workers between ages 25 and 33 would take jobs with lower salaries but excellent retirement benefits rather than positions with higher salaries and poor retirement ...
Read More »
Employer Background Checks: New Obligations and Restrictions Imposed by the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which governs retrieval and use of consumer and credit information from consumer reporting agencies, was extensively amended in 1996. The amendments impose new reporting and disclosure requirements for consumer ...
Read More »
Employer Beware: The Fair Credit Reporting Act Applies to Employee Misconduct Investigations

In 1996, Congress passed the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act, Public Law 104-208, which broadened the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. Section 1681, to include employer investigations into employee misconduct. The Federal Trade ...
Read More »
Employer Bonus Plans Following the Ralphs Grocery Co. v. Superior Court Decision

In Ralphs Grocery Co. v. Superior Court (Swanson) (“Ralphs Grocery”),1 decided on October 23, 2003, the California Court of Appeal addressed whether the prohibition against deducting cash and inventory shortages from wages prohibits “a large ...
Read More »
Employer Following Complaint Procedure in Handbook Sets Forth Affirmative Defense to Sexual Harassment Claim

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted the employer's motion for summary judgment in this sexual harassment case because the plaintiff "unreasonably failed to take advantage of the preventive and corrective ...
Read More »
Employer Health Plans May Reimburse Employees for Purchases of Over-the-Counter Drugs

In a significant development, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has issued new guidance in a Revenue Ruling permitting health flexible spending accounts ("health FSAs") to reimburse participants for the cost of over-the-counter drugs, such as ...
Read More »
Employer Liability for Employee Conduct

Employers are well familiar with the fact that they are being sued for the acts of their employees. In increasing numbers of cases, however, employers are being confronted with lawsuits against their employees. The employees then usually turn to the ...
Read More »
Employer Liability for Violence in the Workplace

The Utah Supreme Court recently held in Clark v. Pangan (April 2000), that employers can be held vicariously liable for an employee's battery of a co-employee. In that case, two postal workers were involved in an altercation. No surprise there, you ...
Read More »