Tag: Employment law

Gig

Gambling on independent contractor status? Stack the deck in your favor

by Gary S. Fealk Smart businesspeople are adept at finding ways to reduce their costs. However, cutting costs associated with employment by using independent contractors is a big risk unless you take great care to make sure you aren’t misclassifying employees as independent contractors.  What’s all the fuss about? Various government agencies have been increasingly […]

Solar eclipse guide for employers

Today’s solar eclipse is expected to be an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with people from all over flocking to the path of totality.  While this will likely mean considerable economic benefits from tourism, it is also expected to be quite costly for employers.  According to an estimate by outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, this afternoon’s […]

When working notice just doesn’t work

by Jacqueline Gant For employers shutting down operations, providing working notice is often the best way to reduce severance amounts owed. Except when it’s not. In McLeod v. 1274458 Ontario Inc., an Ontario court confirmed that working notice is appropriate only for employees capable of working during the notice period. Facts The employer sold furniture […]

protest

Alt-Right Protests: Guidance for HR on Employees’ Off-Duty Conduct

The actions of employees can put their employers in a bad light, and that presents HR with a problem. If the employer chooses to fire an employee who engages in off-duty conduct that goes against the employer’s values, will there be legal trouble? Possibly, according to attorneys focusing on employment matters, but a dismissal can […]

Writing effective workplace investigation reports

by Karen McAndrew When a lawsuit alleging discrimination, harassment, or retaliation arrives at your door, will you be prepared to defend it?  Why documentation is important We all hope, of course, that our workplace culture prevents employees from experiencing unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation; that we have good, solid policies in place to address any […]

Alt-right protests: Protected off-duty activity or cause for termination?

It’s an employer’s nightmare. An employee shows up in a video making the rounds on social media taking part in a protest that includes violent clashes and racist insults. The employer wants no association with such actions and decides to cut ties. Will there be legal trouble if the employee is fired? Possibly, according to […]

retirement

Retirement: The Unique Status of California’s Largest Employer

In a recent case, the court of appeal agreed with a public university, which also happens to be one of California’s largest employer, that certain laws regulating the retirement status and rights of peace officers do not apply to the university under its own retirement plan—even after the university reversed its own practice of complying […]

solar eclipse

Will the Solar Eclipse Disrupt Your Workplace?

On Monday August 21, 2017, in the middle of the workday, millions of people will abandon their jobs to gaze up at the skies and experience what might well be a once-in-a-lifetime event: a total eclipse of the sun. For those on the ground along an approximately 70-mile-wide path from Oregon to North Carolina, the […]