Categories
Recent Posts
- Meaningful Harassment Training
- Put it in Writting
- Get A Receipt: How to stop employee misappropriation
- Focus on the Wins
- HALLOWEEN EDITION: CUES TO CALL A LAWYER
Archives
- December 2023
- October 2023
- May 2023
- February 2023
- October 2022
- August 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- January 2022
- June 2021
- May 2021
- December 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- December 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- June 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- September 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- September 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- January 2017
- October 2016
- September 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- August 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- October 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
Three Tips for Avoiding the Courthouse in 2014
Posted on January 22, 2014 in Consulting, Employment Litigation
I help employers avoid the courthouse. Keeping in the spirit of my mission, I decided my first newsletter of the year should provide three simple steps employers should take now to make 2014 a positive workplace experience.
- Conduct Sexual Harassment Training
After 20 years of practicing employment law, I am never surprised by the stories of inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. In just the past few months, I have had some pretty crazy fact patterns on my docket. Without sharing the crude detail, I will say that cell phone cameras have created a whole new dimension of lewd behavior. Text messaging adds a new, seemingly uncontrolled medium for flirtation, innuendo, and uninhibited expression.
Employers must get in front of evolving technology and take more aggressive steps to police harassment at work. The first, obvious step in that process is sexual harassment training. Compelling managers to attend sexual harassment training should motivate, if not just scare, supervisors to be mindful of their obligations to monitor and confront harassment. Additionally, training provides a great defense to a subsequent claim of discrimination. Should your company face a sexual harassment lawsuit, you can be sure that the jury hearing the case will expect the business to have conducted harassment training before, not after, the incident that created the lawsuit. An employer who has failed to conduct training or has not conducted training in a few years sits in a very bad position when later facing a claim of sexual harassment.
We can help. Call or write me if you are interested in us assisting with sexual harassment training.
- Study your Payroll Practices
Overtime claims are prevalent and will continue to be a serious challenge to employers in 2014 and beyond. In the past six months alone, we have taken many calls from employers fighting claims for overtime. Google “overtime” or “FLSA violations” and see the litany of plaintiff lawyers advertising on the Web trying to claim their share of the overtime legal market. The stakes can be big, and, so not surprising, the lawyers swarm like vultures. Even employees seeking small dollar overtime claims have no problem finding a lawyer willing to sue.
The best defense to an overtime claim is avoidance. Employers must periodically — annually at minimum — review their payroll practices for FLSA compliance. A quality review of payroll practices may reveal serious problems or minor needed adjustments. The real trick is how to fix the problem without sounding alarms. Good legal counsel can help guide employers through the process. We have done this successfully for years.
Please let us know if you would like assistance in reviewing your payroll practices. I will assure you of this: I have never had a client regret being proactive with payroll practices.
- Review Bonus and Commission Agreements
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a client remark that they cannot recall the terms of their bonus or commission plan, or, admit to me that they have never reduced the agreement to writing. Too many employers prefer a handshake understanding or unwritten rule. Perhaps putting an agreement into writing takes too much time and effort. Legal formality has a low priority right until the point that someone sues.
Sometimes an employer has some form of written bonus and commission policy. Too often, however, the agreement or policy takes one of two opposite extremes: (i) over simplified and leaves out key terms, or (ii) too complex and misunderstood. This later scenario arises frequently when a manager plagiarizes from the Internet without seeking a lawyer’s assistance.
The terms of bonus and commissions should always be memorialized. It is the only way to avoid a dispute and thereby the courthouse.
Take the time in 2014 to read the company’s bonus plan and commission agreements to ensure it accurately reflects the deal. If there is nothing to read, then the answer is obvious.
Let us know if you would like our assistance in helping to avoid the courthouse in 2014. We can provide in-office training, payroll reviews, and help draft easy to follow bonus and commission agreements.