Labor & Employment Law

No. An employer must pay an employee overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a work week unless the employee specifically meets an exemption from the overtime provisions of state and federal law. If the job duties of an employee’s position do not qualify for an exemption, the employee must be paid overtime (1.5 times their regular rate) for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

“Employee at will” is a legal term that means that the employee has no legal contract with the employer. They can leave the company, or be terminated, with or without cause.

Employee manuals can be good tools to communicate with your clients employees about policies and procedures which you would prefer not to have to repeat again and again when asked. However, you should be extremely cautious in preparing a document that could be read as providing contract rights to your employees. You need to strike the right balance in addressing these conflicting goals.

A brief consultation with your attorney will help you to size up whether it is worth contesting the employee’s request. Just because an employee is terminated for good reason does not necessarily mean that they are prohibited from receiving unemployment.

There are several different tests to determine whether a worker can properly be classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, e.g., for federal tax, state unemployment and workers compensation, wage and hour purposes, etc.  Increasingly, state and federal law has narrowed the definition of an independent contractor.  Misclassification of a worker as an independent contractor could lead to substantial employer liability for back taxes, overtime pay, benefits, audits, and other liabilities.  Consult with counsel if you have any questions about worker classification.

Even where an employer has terminated an employee for poor performance, there is still a possibility that the employee could claim the employer’s given reason is pretext for some type of unlawful discrimination or retaliation. It is generally in an employer’s best interests to document an employee’s performance issues, outlining how the employee has failed to meet his/her job duties and/or the employer’s expectations, with specific examples. Contact counsel if you wish to discuss potential areas of liability and mitigating risk in advance of any employment termination.

The NLRA applies to all employers. Regardless of whether an employer is unionized, Section 8 of the NLRA prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in their rights to engage in concerted activities. There is a wide range of activities that are considered “concerted”. Generally, “concerted activity” requires two or more employees acting together to improve wages or working conditions, but the action of a single employee may be considered concerted if he/she involves co-workers before acting, or acts on behalf of others. For example, employers must use caution not to prohibit or dissuade employees from discussing their wages or other working conditions, as such action could violate the NLRA.