Employment Law Guide

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Rules of Engagement              
Your relationship with your employees doesn't have to be a battle. Spelling out the terms of employment ahead of time can help head off disputes at the pass.

To Restrain or Not to Restrain              
Whats the best way to keep your employees from jumping ship.

Independent Contractor or Employee         IRS     
Straight from the IRS, their views on the matter. While the answer to your question may or may not be here, and the analysis is different in different industries and business situations, it couldn't hurt to know what the IRS thinks.

Compliance Alliance         Office.com     
Keeping contractors independent will keep the IRS out of your hair.

Dealing with Problem Employees              
Prior to disciplining an employee for violating work rules or engaging in other workplace misconduct, or dealing with a problem employee, here are some questions to ask yourself to insure you are handling this correctly.

AIDS in the Workplace              
AIDS has become a workplace issue because some employers and employees fear that this fatal disease can be transmitted in the workplace. Additionally, employees who have AIDS fear that they will lose their job, benefits, friends

Settling Your Differences         Erica Lehrer Goldman     
An upcoming Supreme Court decision could prohibit employers from insisting on arbitration.The U.S. Supreme Court will be reviewing a California employment law case that will have serious ramifications nationwide for employers seeking to arbitrate rather than litigate work-related claims. The case, Circuit City Stores Inc. v. Saint Clair Adams, will examine the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act. In effect since 1925, the measure allows contracts with binding arbitration agreements to prevail over state law except in "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce."

The Law of the Land         Allbusiness.com     
Establishing workplace rules that work for everyone. One of the great things about running your own business is that you make the rules. The trick is to make good ones. If you want to create a rocking modus operandi, read this.

Hitting The H-1B Visa Cap: Immigration Strategies And Alternatives For Employers Of Foreign Nationals - Part I         Gabrielle M. Buckley     

Hitting The H-1B Visa Cap: Immigration Strategies And Alternatives For Employers Of Foreign Nationals - Part II         Gabrielle M. Buckley     

Polygraph Testing of Employees: Are the Handcuffs On The Employer?         Paul F. McCurdy and Wesley D. Dupont     

Technology In the Workplace - Caveat User         Audrey M. Roth     

A Problem Termination         Paul Bressan     

Are Repetitive Stress Disorders Covered by the ADA? An Employer's Guide to the Confusion         Kenneth Kirschner and Marnie Worth     

EEOC Claims Way Up              
The number of employment-discrimination lawsuits filed has soared in recent years. Many experts point to the increased diversity of the work force as a key reason for the increase.

No Permanent Temps              
The recent settlement of the long-running Microsoft temporary employee case sets new rules for how companies will have to treat the nation's 10.2 million temporary workers.

Affirmative Action Scramble              
The Department of Labor's Equal Employment Opportunity Survey represents a significant change to the agency's regulations. Labor lawyers tell Office.com what to expect from the new rules.

Avoid Sexual Harassment Lawsuits              
Until Anita Hill took her place at the witness table in 1991 to testify in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, most employers were blissfully unaware of the term "sexual harassment" as it related to conduct in the workplace. Before the Thomas confirmation hearings brought sexual harassment from the workplace into the living rooms of America, complaints of sexual harassment were a relative rarity.

Hiring Foreign-Born Employees              
At first glance, the process of hiring any employee, foreign or otherwise, may seem dauntingly baroque. But if the candidates you're considering are as talented as you say they are, wending your way through the considerable paperwork will obviously be more than worth the effort.

Hiring Your First Employee              
Those who possess the entrepreneurial spirit and drive are used to working alone as they expand their business dream from great concept to actual working company. But when business starts booming and that valued customer base begins expanding, many find that no amount of ambition and enthusiasm can make up for having someone to help with the work.

Illegal Interview Questions              
Imagine that three of your eight employees are on maternity leave. You're interviewing a candidate for a new position and concerned about your dwindling staff, so you ask if she plans to have children in the next few years. You only have your company's best interest at heart. "If you ask that question, and that person doesn't get the job, they can come back and claim gender discrimination," says Maria Grecky, an attorney in Broomfield, Colo. who specializes in labor law.

Hiring Foreign-Born Employees         Office.com     
Planning on hiring a foreign national? Here's how to do it legally.

Hiring Your First Employee         office.com     
Recruit with Compatibility in Mind

Avoid Sexual Harassment Lawsuits         Office.com     
Sexual harassment lawsuits can hurt any firm's bottom line. Anti-harassment policies are essential.

Labor and Employment: Seniority Can Trump Disability              
The Supreme Court has recently taken yet another bite out of the Americans with Disabilities Act, making it easier for employers who consistently apply seniority systems to handle competing claims of ADA accommodation. The Supreme Court ruled that while a seniority system does not always "trump accommodation requests," it "will prevail in the run of cases.

Laws Protect Workers From Illegal Discharge              
State and federal laws make it illegal for an employer to fire an employee for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons are well known to most people but many others are unfamiliar.

The Employee Who Bit Off More Than He Could Chew, and the Employer Who Was Forced to Swallow a Workers' Comp Claim              
The Court of Appeals recently considered the issue of whether an employee's injury caused by a piece of candy during work time was a compensable injury for purposes of workers' compensation, or simply an injury incurred while engaging in a recreational or social activity primarily for the employee's personal pleasure.

Alabama Supreme Court Alters Burden in Retaliatory Discharge Cases              
For the second time in as many years, the Supreme Court of Alabama has tinkered with the prima facie case burden borne by plaintiffs alleging retaliatory discharge for filing workers' compensation claims. The latest alteration should be helpful to Alabama employers and increase the likelihood of summary judgments and judgments as a matter of law in their favor.

Court Workers Strike in California              
Sacramento County court workers blame interference from the Administrative Office of the Courts for the impasse that sent them out on strike Tuesday. United Public Employees contends the AOC is trying to influence bargaining by requiring local court administrators to put language in the contract limiting salary increases. However, AOC Director William Vickrey denied that claim.

Cyber Trespassing Claims Must Demonstrate Harm              
A former employee floods his employer's servers with e-mail criticizing the company and urging some 35,000 employees to quit. The company alleges significant interference with productivity causing economic damages. May the company recover in tort against the former employee for losses caused by the flood of e-mail?

Credit Reports - What Employers Should Know              
Thinking of checking your employee's or prospect's credit? Read this first.

Employer Responsibilities Under U.S. Immigration Laws              
You have responsibilities when you hire immigrants.

Avoiding Sexual Harassment- Lessons for Supervisors              
Supervisors might be responsible for the harassment by their employees. Take control.

Verifying Employee Immigration Status              
It is a crime to hire illegal aliens. Suggestions to protect you and your business.

FAQ for Hiring Independent Contractors         Nolo Press     
Treating an employee like an independent contractor can have serous legal implications.

Legal & Illegal Pre-Employment Inquiries         Nolo Press     
Even your prospective employees have rights.

Employers' Rights & Responsibilities         Nolo Press     
Your employees have rights, even though they work for you.

Employment Contracts:Non-disclosure and non-compete Agreements              
Covenants not to compete are the most difficult for the employer to enforce if the provisions are not written properly.

Verifying Employee Immigration Status              
Employers are potentially liable if they hire illegal aliens.

Electronic Privacy Rights In the Workplace              
Before you read their email, or scan their disks, make sure you have the right to do so.

Employment Discrimination Outline              
Used by law students when they are studying for their exams, law school outlines are an excellent way to get an overivew of a particular topic.

Independent Contractors              

Independent Contractor vs. Employee Flowchart              

Independent Contractors              

Employer Beware?: Supreme Court Decides In Favor Of Employees In Varity Corporation v. Howe By Alan J. Laska and John A. Reade         Alan J. Laska and John A. Reade, Jr.     

Avoid Sexual Harassment Lawsuits              
A sexual harassment lawsuit can have a major impact on any firm's bottom line. Implementing a written anti-harassment policy is an essential precaution.

Is Your Office Right for Cyberspace?              
Find out which offices are best suited for the virtual world, who's best suited to work in them, and how to manage a decentralized staff.

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