October 1, 2010
October 1, 2010
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Employers have the right to establish a dress code or appearance policy as long as there is a business reason, it is consistently applied and it doesn’t discriminate. Businesses that prohibit body art, tattoos and unconventional body piercing frequently cite the need to reflect a professional image as the reason. Some employers believe body art may be offensive to customers, investors and the public. Starbucks conducted an online survey of customers to determine if unobtrusive tattoos or more visible body piercings would change their visiting habits. Tattoos had less of a negative impact than piercings. Tattoos would cause 13% to […]
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February 1, 2010
February 1, 2010
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Web 2.0 applies to web applications that allow users to interact and change website content. It is an ongoing work, where everyone can contribute; it’s fast, used for reference and attracts millions of viewers and contributors. It is not always accurate. Whether companies embrace social networking and blogging or not, most will be affected in some manner. Employers need to decide how, not if Web 2.0 will be used and by whom. Will marketing and customer service have blogs? If so, what are the rules? Will recruiters use social media as a method to conduct background checks? Case law is […]
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September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
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Employers may feel they are in a no-win situation when faced with an allegation of discrimination. If the employer terminates the alleged perpetrator, it may face a wrongful termination lawsuit. If the employer determines the alleged perpetrator is innocent, the accuser may claim harassment, discrimination , and/or retaliation. All employers need to have policies and procedures related to unlawful conduct in place. There needs to be a consistent standard of conduct applied to everyone. And a complaint procedure needs to be written, easily accessible and understood. A procedure to conduct an internal investigation will provide structure to assure a certain […]
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August 1, 2009
August 1, 2009
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The term wage theft is gaining popularity among plaintiffs’ attorneys who are filing wage and hour claims. These are attractive cases because the employer bears the burden of proof and it’s relatively easy to get class-action certified. Wage and hour class actions are filed more often than all other types of employment class actions combined. The Department of Labor (DOL) estimates 70% of employers are not in compliance with wage and hour regulations. Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis is committed to protecting workers’ rights; planning to hire an additional 250 new field investigators; a one-third increase in its staffing. Employers […]
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