Here is a link to a good article by two lawyers from Atlanta, Benjamin Flink and Anne Andrews, on how to protect your confidential information and customer relationships in this age of data mobility. While it mostly focuses on Georgia law, the article provides some good practical suggestions/reminders, including using confidentiality agreements with employees; [...]
More on background checks
I wrote about this issue back in September here, and today there is news that several states are considering laws to limit the use of credit reports in hiring. Supporters of such laws say they are necessary because an increasing number of employers are doing credit checks even though there is no proof that bad [...]
The Pitfalls of Background Checks
I often warn clients to be careful about how they conduct background checks because of potential claims of race discrimination. Now comes a lawsuit illustrating that concern. A class action filed in New York yesterday alleges that the management consulting firm Accenture discriminates against African Americans and Latinos in the way it conducts its background checks. [...]
Are your interns really employees?
This recent article in the New York Times should remind us that employers can get themselves into trouble by offering “unpaid internships” that are not really internships. Agencies in several different states have investigated the use of internships and have, in some cases, fined employers who are actually using the interns to provide unpaid labor. [...]
An employee’s e-mails to her lawyer are protected
A decision this week by New Jersey’s Supreme Court adds another layer to the ongoing debate over employee’s right to privacy within the workplace. The Court concluded that an employee, Marina Stengart, could reasonably expect that e-mail communication with her lawyer through her personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account would remain private, and that sending [...]
New Tax Break for Employers That Hire Unemployed Workers
On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (“HIRE”), which provides a number of tax credits designed to stimulate employment, including one for business that hire unemployed workers. Employers of a “qualified employee” are excused from paying the employer’s portion of Social Security taxes on that employee’s wages in 2010. [...]
Succession Planning for Family Businesses
This isn’t an employment law issue per se, but I have represented enough family business over the years that I have seen first-hand the critical importance of succession planning. Here is an excellent summary from today’s New York Times on what to consider to avoid a “succession disaster”, including some obvious and some not-so-obvious [...]
Fire your unhappy employees!
What is the secret to having happy employees? According to this business owner, it’s two-fold: treat them well, and fire the unhappy ones. “As a manager you cannot make everyone happy. You can try, you can listen, you can solve some problems, you can try some more. But there comes a point when you [...]
Employee Privacy Rights
This morning there are a couple of interesting privacy stories that serve as good reminders of best practices in this area. The first arises in connection with a union arbitration over discipline meted out to an employee of a municipal liquor store in Paynesville, Minnesota. As you know, these types of arbitrations usually depend [...]
A coming crackdown on misclassification of independent contractors?
Reports yesterday suggest that the government officials are starting to aggressively pursue companies that misclassify regular employees as independent contractors, at least in part to garner additional tax revenues. For example, the federal government’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years, while more than two dozen states [...]
