You may have missed it, but the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, turned 20 years old last month. Although the purpose of the FMLA may be a noble one — providing employees unpaid leave from work for treatment of their own serious health condition, or to care for and comfort family members who...Read More

Is telecommuting right for your business? Yahoo and Best Buy recently reconsidered the answer to this question, resulting in a media uproar supporting telecommuting employees. But what legal issues do employers face with telecommuting? Following are five key issues employers should consider: Wage and hour compliance. Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must...Read More

The NLRB continues to be very active in evaluating employee handbook provisions that may impact the rights of union and non-union employees to engage in protected, concerted activity under Section 7 of the NLRA. A three member panel recently issued its decision in DirectTV U.S. DirecTV Holdings LLC and struck down several of the company’s...Read More

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), effective January 1, 2013, employers are now required to use new forms as part of their background check process.  These form changes are the result of a shift in interpretation responsibility from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The primary...Read More

A three-member panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals has ruled that President Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional. On January 4, 2012, the President appointed the three members, purportedly pursuant to the Recess Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which allows the President to make such appointments...Read More

Despite the Obama administration’s movement towards immigration reform, more and more employers are being audited to determine if they are employing illegal immigrants.  In 2012, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) audited the I-9 forms of over 3,000 employers, up from only 250 employers just 5 years ago.  Not only have employer fines increased from...Read More

Non-union employers who have an employee handbook almost universally have a section setting out the employment relationship as being at will (e.g. “You are employed at will and may be terminated at any time with or without notice and reason.”) and a further provision limiting the right to alter this status. (e.g. “Only the president...Read More

Even if an employer has done everything correctly – given ample warnings, progressive discipline – a terminated employee sometimes still files suit.  A recent case illustrates the point.  A grocery clerk was terminated after receiving over a dozen warnings about rudeness to customers, including a “last chance” agreement.  Nevertheless, the terminated clerk sued.  The clerk...Read More

Partner, Jake Fulcher will be speaking at the Southwestern Indiana Builders Association (SIBA) Membership Meeting on Tuesday, November 13th. Jake will address the Right to Work law.Read More

Avoiding the many pitfalls associated with leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act is no easy task for employers.  Complex issues can especially arise when employers are faced with administering intermittent leave for exempt employees, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA establishes minimum wage and overtime pay standards.  Certain employees...Read More