Ver la versión en español aquí
Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce’s IMPACT Series: A Seminar Series for Small Business. The audience was comprised of business and human resources professionals across several sectors. For those of you who were not able to attend the presentation, I have included my top takeaways.
“5 Tips to Help Avoid Employment Lawsuits”
- HIRING
- Be mindful that discrimination laws apply to applicants as well as employees.
- Train your managers to avoid problematic interview questions—focus on the job requirements.
- Make sure your offer letters are clear as to type of employment (i.e., at-will) and any other job requirements.
- CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES
- This is a gray area of law.
- Improperly classifying your workers can cause headaches with lawsuits, the department of labor, the IRS, and more.
- Assess your contract employees’ duties for the “economic realities” of their work.
- POLICIES
- Handbooks/policies are important to document employee expectations.
- Policies should be applied consistently to be effective.
- Training your employees on policies can help provide legal defenses in court.
- PAYING EMPLOYEES PROPERLY
- FLSA requires payment of minimum wage and overtime.
- A finding of liability can require payment of other side’s attorney’s fees.
- Beware of “off the clock” violations, improperly classified contractors, and improperly classified exempt employees.
- TERMINATION
- Documenting employee performance can win or lose cases.
- Reason for termination must be legitimate, non-discriminatory reason (i.e., violating rules, misconduct, job elimination, etc.).
- BONUS – RETALIATION
- The law protects employee’s opposition to an unlawful employment practice.
- Protected activity could include filing a lawsuit, making a discrimination complaint, or participating in an investigation.
- Timing is key for retaliation claims.