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

Severance Agreement Releasing Employer And Employees From Claims Is Enforceable

The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed that a severance agreement signed by a terminating employee that expressly released both the employer and its employees precluded future claims against the terminated employee's former co-workers. In ...
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Severance Pay Taxable

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has decided that the entire amount of a separation severance payment given to a taxpayer upon termination of employment is taxable as income. The payment was made in conjunction with a separation and ...
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Sexual Harassment: An Ounce Of Corporate Prevention

Sexual harassment has receive widespread media attention over the past few years, first attaining national recognition with Anita Hill's testimony at the confirmation hearings of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and culminating ...
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Sexual Harassment: An Overview

Sexual harassment continues to be a significant issue and a claim that is frequently litigated in the workplace. In a recent survey of 612 human resource (HR) directors nationwide, 93 percent reported that their organization had been named as a ...
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Sexual Harassment by a Supervisor Can Trigger Employer Liability

When a supervisor subjects an employee to a "tangible employment action" (i.e. hiring, firing, loss of pay, demotion), the employer can be held strictly liable, eliminating employer defenses such as prompt investigation and remedial action. But what ...
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Sexual Harassment Frame Work Used in Racial Harassment Case

Emphasizing the preference noted by the United States Supreme Court in Farragher v. Boca Raton for "harmonizing the standards applied in cases of racial discrimination and sexual discrimination," the Tenth Circuit applied the sexual harassment ...
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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of state and federal law. Sexual harassment is defined as any form of unwelcome physical conduct of a sexual nature. The most extreme form of sexual harassment occurs when an employee loses a job ...
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Sexual Harassment is in the Headlines

President Clinton is not the only one making the news on sexual harassment these days. In a trilogy of decisions, the United States Supreme Court has addressed this subject and begun to give more definition to what has been an amorphous concept ...
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Sexual Harassment: its Not Just General Hardtack and Miss Buxley Anymore

Since Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing and the Paula Jones lawsuit, sexual harassment has been a frequently reported-and more frequently litigated-issue. Certainly most people are familiar with at least the basic facts and circumstances of a ...
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Sexual Harassment Law Clarified by Supreme Court

On June 26, 1998, the United States Supreme Court issued two opinions which clarify the law on sexual harassment claims affecting employers. These two opinions make it easier for employees to pursue certain harassment claims against employers, but ...
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