And some of the considerations that you need to make when you’re making your business call. Unfortunately, sometimes the person bringing forward an accusation of sexual harassment will experience retaliation. This can happen when companies are unaware or unwilling to comply with employment laws. Examples of retaliation include change in responsibilities, change in compensation or even termination. When searching for top employment law firms, it’s always best to check with the people you know and trust first.

But talk to us if it’s a sensitive reason so we can work on the messaging. But hardly anybody in this space has time for that. So really, it’s about cutting your losses. Making sure you have a proper employment Employment Law 101 agreement in place and going on without cause basis. And you’re on the ground and dealing with employees on a day-to-day basis, we’re here on the sidelines advising you when you need help with things.

Employee Rights

The first thing employers must do is figure out which of the many labor laws apply to the business and then set in place the necessary policies to ensure compliance. The most common difference in labor laws between industries is safety-related provisions. Incorporate all applicable laws into your employee handbook and HR policies and make them part of corporate culture to ensure they’re observed at all times. Currently, the government of Ontario is looking to overhaul the Employment Standards Act and is engaging in sort of a comprehensive review process.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) authorizes eligible employees of covered employers to take 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave every year for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of health benefits. The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for specific family and medical reasons. Over the years, states have adopted labor laws to suit employees’ needs throughout the state. This is why businesses need to be aware of the specific requirements in each city or region of their state.

As a corporate attorney, Susan functions in the role of outside counsel and contracts attorney. She works with clients from start-up to finish performing business formation services and drafting buy-sell agreements, shareholder agreements, operating agreements, purchase and sale agreements and drafting of succession planning agreements. Now finally, we will get to non-exempt employees. So we’ve talked about independent contractors, we’ve talked a bit about exempt employees. Just a few thoughts on non-exempt employees, best practices, traps, danger zones.

Beyond the Job: Employee Well-being and Development in Temp Work

When needed she defends clients against unemployment claims, wage claims, and discrimination claims before regulatory agencies (EEOC, local human rights commissions) and in state and federal courts. Susan values opportunities to work with clients on a proactive basis with the hopes that the understanding of and compliance with laws will result in the avoidance of or better positions when defending lawsuits and charges. She offers training to her clients in these areas.

As such, it’s important to develop an employee handbook that will adequately cater to multiple states, should your business reside in multiple states, and update it on a recurring basis or as new laws evolve and existing laws are amended. The other thing we wanted to do, and I think we’ll try to do at these future sessions is maybe do a spotlight on some of our clients. And so we have Michael Carter here who’s the founder and CEO of Kahuso. Kahuso’s a platform that helps connect companies with executives, advisors, board members, but I guess executives on a short-term contract basis.

Labor Law Violations and Penalties for Non-Compliance

We would really need to make sure that you have the appropriate documentation to back up that it does fall under that carve-out. And most of the time, individuals you engage as interns, it’s just going to be a job title. It’s going to connote an understanding that that individual has a certain role in the organization, a lower role, one that maybe has lower pay. But that that pay needs to at least be commensurate with minimums under minimum wage under the Employment Standards Act. And then briefly go over some key ongoing compliance issues that come about. And I’m going to talk about there about some potential changes to the law that may be upcoming and very impactful for your businesses.

But it’s always going to be materially less than the common law. And in an independent contractor agreement, there really isn’t the scope to draft the same type of clause that references the legislation and ensures all the technical compliance requirements that have been outlined by the courts. So you’re essentially saying something like, we can terminate on 30 days notice, and you can terminate on 30 days notice, when you’re drafting an independent contractor agreement. And really, the courts’ thought process would be, OK, this person is really an employee. And really, fixed term employment agreements for interns make a whole lot of sense because you know it’s going to be for a defined period. You know, April to August for summer break.

• It established the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
• And they can be happening in tandem, but really, the most effective responses are going to be business-driven, not legal-driven.
• And really, the courts’ thought process would be, OK, this person is really an employee.
• As a show of solidarity, most skilled laborers joined the unions.
• If the worker thinks they’re an employee and feels like an employee, that might be relevant.

So it’s a missed opportunity to control the termination entitlements. And it’s also you could get audited by the CRA. And then there’d be failure to withhold and deduct.

Discrimination and Wrongful Termination

Sometimes I hear– this person is going to be on contract, which is– it really isn’t a precise term. It doesn’t fit into the legal concepts of an employee versus an independent contractor. Because you can have a fixed term employee, a contract for a defined period of time, but that person is also an employee. An independent contractor will be mostly by definition for a fixed period of time. Because if you agree that somebody will be a consultant or an independent contractor for an indefinite period of time, you’re essentially admitting that person really is more like an employee. That’s one of the factors that the courts will look at.

• Workers need to know their rights when it comes to earning a fair wage and receiving appropriate compensation for overtime work.
• Do you need a federal employment law attorney, or is your issue at a state or local level?
• Shortly after, in 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was put into place.
• Granted, we’d still want to check it against all these other aspects, but they’re not providing a service that’s a key activity of your business.
• So I’ll turn it over to Michael just to say a few words about Kahuso and kind of spread the word about what he’s working on.

And so the hope is that from this presentation, you’ll be able to go back to your office. And as you’re going on with the day-to-day business, being able to spot issues where you think there may be a problem. Because it’s a lot easier to fix them at the outset than it is when things blow up. Employees organizing an opposition to a vaccine mandate, operational changes, pay cuts.

Do you need a federal employment law attorney, or is your issue at a state or local level? Is the discrimination based on your race, your age, or a disability? Do your research to ensure you find an employment law attorney who specializes in the specific legal issues you’re facing as an employee. Every industry is different, and so is every business.

Discrimination, for example, whether racial or gender-based, was not just a common occurrence but generally accepted by previous generations. Failure to adhere to the labor laws employers are subject to can expose the entire company to unnecessary liabilities. As such, it is crucial to understand and comply with these expectations, or labor laws, set forth for employers.

So starting with employees versus independent contractors, like I said, this is basically the universe of workers of people that you’re going to bring on board. To the certain extent, there’s temporary help agencies, labor force, that kind of thing, really, we don’t really see that in the emerging companies space. And it’s an area that I would encourage you to stay away from as well. Because there are a lot of legal trip mines.

Is the individual a part of your business, or is the individual in business for themselves? They have other opportunities to build upon their own business. And really, they’re providing a defined service, sort of a carved out and clear contribution to your company as opposed to being integrated into your business.

Learn all about employment law, including what employment law lawyers do, reasons why you might need to hire an attorney, the different government acts created to protect the rights of employees, and how you can find employment law help. HR solutions can help employers maintain compliance across the vast spectrum of labor laws. The possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to options for HR software and solutions. So it’s important to find a service provider that can help navigate what the business needs.