Employment laws are continually changing and can be difficult to understand
and keep track of. Employers put themselves in dangerous legal jeopardy by
not knowing enough about employment law and the quagmire of federal and state
laws and regulations issued in recent years. Examples are the erosion of the
employment-at-will doctrine, recent court decisions on wrongful discharge,
pay discrimination, harassment, and the complexities of interpreting and applying
the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Add to this the new legal challenges
of understanding HIPAA, working-at-home and electronic commerce – email,
use of the Internet and privacy issues.
Failure to stay abreast of employment laws and take proper compliance measures
can mean significant liability for the employer as well as the individual executives
and managers themselves. Settlements of lawsuits often reach millions of dollars
and incur high defense costs, not to mention consuming valuable resources and
time of the organization.
Workplace laws not only impact employers and employees, but former employees,
retirees as well as spouses, dependents and even visitors to the workplace.
The Human Resource Department, with a full-time employment attorney on staff,
can help you to understand and comply with the federal and state employment
laws affecting your organization and avoid costly litigation and fines in the
following ways:
Investigation and related services in defense of EEOC charges,
unemployment and workers' compensation claims
Preemployment matters
including proper employment application, drug-testing, and correct procedure
for reference checking and credit checks
Prevention, investigation, and
counseling regarding harassment complaints
Assistance in planning for and
dealing with employees in terminations, reductions in force, severance provisions,
compliance with age discrimination laws
Assistance in dealing effectively
with drug and alcohol abuse issues
Disciplinary counseling
Government reporting and record keeping
advisory services (EEO, I-9s, OSHA, etc.)
Protection of employment-at-will
relationship
Assistance with wage and hour law compliance (FLSA)
Review pay
practices for discrimination (Equal Pay Act)
Guidance on the WARN Act
(plant closing law)
Preparation of affirmative action plans
COBRA administration
services
Preparation of job descriptions in compliance with the ADA
Preparation
of employee handbooks, policy manuals, and salary administration policies
Assistance
in formulating your key policies addressing harassment avoidance, EEO, disability
accommodation, drugs and alcohol in the workplace, family and medical leaves,
and equal pay
Our project managers, including our employment attorney, have extensive experience
and are highly qualified to assist your organization in dealing with these
issues. In addition, we partner with highly competent employment attorneys
if circumstances require. For further information, contact
us.
