‘The dog ate my homework’ just won’t do any more
October 31, 2008
CareerBuilder.com just published its annual survey on employee absenteeism. Turns out some 33 percent of workers have phoned in sick when they really weren’t.
The nationwide survey included more than 6,800 workers and 3,300 employers.
The most common reason for playing hooky? The worker just didn’t feel like going to work that day (34 percent) […]
Employer Obligations under USERRA
October 31, 2008
Since September 11, 2001, it has become increasingly common for employers to face the reality of losing valuable employees who are called upon to serve the nation through their separate commitment to military service.
When these employees report for military duty, it’s not unusual for businesses to run into several roadblocks and legal ambiguities over […]
Fired CFO gets copies of all documents he wrote
May 14, 2008
A former chief financial officer who sued after being fired is entitled to copies of all documents he authored, received and reviewed or had access to while he worked at the company.
The Supreme Court of Virginia has never addressed this issue of civil procedure and evidence law, the judge noted.
In Rush v. Sunrise Senior Living […]
Lies and resumes: Know your rights as an employer
September 10, 2008
For any company, the process of hiring a new employee can be daunting. After combing through resume after resume of unqualified job seekers and conducting numerous interviews, it’s certainly a relief once the applicant pool is narrowed down to the candidate who stands out above the rest.
His resume boasts an advanced degree, an impressive set […]
Noncompete struck for being too broad
September 10, 2008
A Chesterfield County judge has ruled that noncompetition and nonsolicitation clauses in a directors’ agreement for a closely held corporation are too broad to be enforced.
Jason Knowles sought the ruling after he left New Age Digital Inc., a computer and network support company that operates in Central Virginia, late last year. Knowles had worked for […]
Computer and telephone monitoring in the workplace
June 27, 2008
10 points you should consider when drafting an office policy
Technological advances in recent years have significantly enhanced an employer’s capability to monitor the behavior and actions of its employees, including e-mail and telephone communications, as well as Internet use. A recent survey revealed that approximately three out of four companies monitor employee use of the […]
Company liable for trucker’s ‘negligent hiring’
June 27, 2008
Roanoke jury has decided a trucking company was negligent in hiring an inexperienced driver to haul a “hot load.”
The verdict last month on liability may be based on new law in the big-dollar, big-rig field of tractor-trailer litigation.
In a decision in Jones v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., U.S. District Judge Glen E. Conrad said that […]
Employee handbooks can foster good employee relations
June 13, 2008
Building better workforce relations begins on the first day of an employee’s job.
First impressions matter in the human resources arena. Unfortunately, many human resource professionals overlook a basic building block in developing positive employee relations - the employee handbook.
Most in HR view employee handbooks as nothing more than drab, mundane necessities of human relations. While […]
Ban camera phones in the workplace?
June 13, 2008
Concerned about workplace confidentiality and privacy, some employment lawyers have been urging clients to restrict employees’ use of personal cellphone cameras.
“It seems that almost all cellphones now come with cameras,” said Alan Thayer, an employment lawyer in Oregon. “These ‘phones’ can be used to take photographs and videos everywhere.”
In his legal blog (www.ptlaw.com/journal/), Thayer recently […]
Fairness should guide the firing process
May 14, 2008
Juries who are called upon to hear wrongful termination cases almost uniformly express confusion about the jury instructions they receive on how to apply the discrimination laws to the facts presented in a case. It is not uncommon to hear jurors say that their decision in such a case hinged on whether or not the […]
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