Author: Colorado Employment Law Letter

Unforeseeable Circumstances Justify Layoff Without WARN Notice

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) requires employers with 100 or more workers to provide 60 days’ advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff. Sometimes employers need to act quickly to lay off employees and can’t provide the 60 days’ notice required by the WARN Act. A recent decision from […]

Take One for the Team

Litigation Value: $60,000 There was just too much going on last night on The Office. Two Episodes, multiple story lines, and several unlawful actions that could lead to big money damages against Dunder Mifflin -– and the new Michael Scott Paper Company. On the “Dream Team” episode, Michael and Pam set out to start the […]

H-1B Visas Still Available for 2010

In a remarkable about-face from the past few years, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today that after a week of receiving petitions for H-1B nonimmigrant visas, the 65,000 cap for the coming fiscal year hasn’t been reached. For the past several years, the USCIS has received far more petitions for H-1B […]

Do Shareholder Rights Matter to Obama?

I was amazed when I first learned that the Obama administration had requested the resignation of GM CEO Rick Wagoner. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I became dismayed. Did Rick Wagoner deserve to lose his job? I don’t know. But I do know that it is not the role of government to […]

Canadian Public Official Acquitted on Charges of Fraud, Breach of Trust

By Mark Colavecchia and Derek Knoechel In June 2003 George Radwanski, Canada’s federal privacy commissioner, resigned three years into his seven-year term amid parliamentary inquiries into travel and hospitality expenses. Several months later, the auditor general released a report leading to a lengthy police investigation of Radwanski’s expense claims. In March 2006, the former privacy […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books in April 2009 and  gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]

DOL Issues Opinion Letter on Wage and Hour Issues for Mandatory Unpaid Time Off

In today’s economic climate, companies are continually looking for ways to cut costs without cutting jobs and resorting to layoffs. One option many companies are considering is mandatory unpaid time off, sometimes referred to as an employee furlough. By requiring mandatory unpaid time off, companies can reduce payroll expenses by reducing the number of hours […]

New I-9 Form Required Starting April 3

All employers are required to verify the employment eligibility of their employees by completing a federal Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for each worker. Employers can use self-audits to verify that the employment eligibility documentation kept on file for their employees is accurate. Recent changes Effective April 3, 2009, the list of documents acceptable to […]

Tips for HR to Manage an Overload of Resumes and Avoid Legal Issues

Unemployment rates have skyrocketed, many companies have downsized or implemented hiring freezes, and everyone seems to be looking for a job. The current economic climate has created an employer’s market for most organizations. Although it’s desirable to have many candidates for open positions, human resources pros may be drowning in the deluge of resumes pouring […]

An Executive’s Thoughts on Executive Pay

Imagine for a moment that you own a company. Unfortunately, your company, like many companies recently, has experienced some problems that have put its mere survival in question. You’ve taken action, removed the employees who were responsible for creating most of the problems, and even brought in a new senior executive — a seasoned industry […]