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
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Supreme Court Rules on “Same Sex” Harassment
In Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., (1998), the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision holding that "same sex" sexual harassment is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In that case, which arose in ...
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Supreme Court Throws Out Retaliation Claim
In a bit of good news for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that some incidents in the workplace are too trivial to constitute sexual harassment or to support a retaliation claim. While the Supreme Court's decision was brief and ...
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Supreme Court to Clarify COBRA
As you know, it is now common for two working spouses to have the option of electing employer provided medical care, including family coverage. Sometimes both spouses will elect family medical coverage either by mistake or in attention. However ...
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Supremes Clarify Portal-to-Portal Act?
In a recent opinion, IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, the Supreme Court has finally provided employers with a "bright-line" test for use in deciding when activities performed by employees constitute compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA" ...
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Surviving An OFCCP Compliance Review
The frequency of compliance reviews by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) is increasing for the nation's construction contractors performing federal or federally assisted work. The OFCCP typically first requests a desk audit ...
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Suspected Disability Fraud Meets “Gross Misconduct” Standard under COBRA
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that an employer did not violate COBRA's notice requirements when it failed to extend COBRA privileges to a terminated employee whom the employer believed had ...
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Sword or Shield? Using Employee Handbooks
With the incoming new year just around the corner, many employers will be "rolling out" new or revised policies and employee handbooks. For many reasons, this timing makes sense. For those considering implementing a handbook for the first time, or ...
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System Crash: Court Rules Microsoft Must Treat Independent Contractors as Employees for Benefit Plan Purposes
Temporary employees, part-time employees, and independent contractors ("contingent workers") account for almost 25 percent of the total U.S. workforce. These employees typically agree to work without company-sponsored employee benefits in exchange ...
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Take Action to Avoid OT Lawsuits
In the 2004 calendar year, 743 collective lawsuits – that is, lawsuits brought on behalf of more than one plaintiff – were filed in federal district courts alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This number is up from just 79 ...
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Taking a Stand Against Substance Abuse With a Written Policy Statement
"I was tired of playing God," says Harold Green, co-owner of Chamberlain Contractors, Inc., a paving company in Laurel, Maryland, with 75 employees. Green recalls struggling with how to handle employees who had drug-related problems, often choosing ...
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