New Law Protects Whistleblowers Who Report Defective and Hazardous Consumer Goods The whistleblower provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which was signed into law by President Bush in August, provides over 20 million employees with protection against retaliation from their employers when reporting defective and hazardous consumer goods. → Read More
What is the impact of a structured settlement on attorney’s fees? Attorney’s fees can be impacted and have an impact on a structured settlement and could actually lead to a conflict if not planned for in advance. → Read More
What is the impact of child labor laws? Child labor laws are in place to prevent minor children from being forced to work in ways that are considered detrimental to them. Child labor laws state that children under the age of 14 cannot hold jobs. → Read More
NY School Teacher Awarded $5M for Sexual Harassment Retaliation Claim A Long Island New York school teacher and Dean of Students was awarded $5 million after the principal of her school sexually harassed her’ then fired her after she filed a complaint. → Read More
Can an employer terminate an employee just before the employee vests in his/her ERISA retirement plan in order to avoid paying extra benefits? ERISA protections, which are mandated by federal law, specifically prohibit employers from terminating employees prior to the vesting of their retirement plans in order to avoid the payment of a pension or the issuance of other pension benefits to the employee. → Read More
I was fired because I refused to do something illegal. Do I have a right to sue my employer? If your employer asks you to do something which clearly violates the law and then fires you for refusing, you would have a cause of action for wrongful discharge against public policy. → Read More
Your Rights as a Cancer Patient in the Workplace The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers, specifically governmental entities and private employers with 15 or more employees, from discriminating against employees or qualified job applicants based on disability, including cancer. This article discusses your rights in the workplace as a cancer patient. → Read More
Can my employer take my retirement money if I’m fired? If you have a retirement plan with an employer, and are then fired from the company, that employer can’t take away any money you have contributed to the retirement plan in the case of a 401(K). In the case of a pension plan where the employer is also contributing to your retirement fund, i.e. through a contribution-matching program or other clause, it’s possible that the employer is legally allowed to take back any contributions they have made to the fund. Whether or not your employer will have the ability to do this will depend on whether you are vested in the retirement plan. → Read More
Do I have to pay for my own health insurance while I’m off on workers comp? Whether or not your employer needs to provide you with health insurance while you are off on workers comp is a very complicated question to answer, and one you are going to need a lawyer for. While many states, including Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Rhode Island and Washington DC have laws mandating that employers either pay for health insurance for workers comp employees or compensate for lost health insurance benefits along with lost wages, ERISA or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts these state laws. Thus, you will need to determine if you and your employer are covered by ERISA. → Read More
Can an employer change insurance policies without giving the employees any notice? Absent a union contract, or an agreement that runs to the benefit of the employees (such as an employment agreement), employers are generally able to change the employer sponsored insurance policy at any time, with or without permission of employees. Employers never have to put the issue to a vote of employees, and while they are compelled to act in accordance with ERISA and other laws, there is no obligation to stay with the same insurance company for the employer sponsored insurance. → Read More
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