TRICK OR TREAT??

This Halloween, here’s a list of spooky legal claims on the rise which employers will not be thrilled to face this coming year.

Warning: reading the list may result in bad dreams.
Double warning: ignoring the list may bring on monster claims.

“Every Employer’s Nightmare” — FLSA Wage and Hour Overtime Claims (the fastest growing area of employee claims) (our Firm can conduct an FLSA Audit to classify your employees correctly, review your pay practices and defend claims if they are brought);

“Ghostbusters” — Restrictive Covenant Litigation (Non-compete, Non-solicitation, Non-Disclosure, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets) (our Firm can provide you with the agreements you need and suggest the policies you can follow to help protect your intellectual property, customer lists, databases, and the like);

“The Exorcist” — Whistleblower Claims (where an employee objects to the company violating a law, rule or regulation and, thereafter, claims to be a victim of adverse employment action) (our Firm can counsel you to deal with claims brought by employees, legitimate or not, so they don’t turn into lawsuits and, if they do, we can help the company take steps to defend itself);

“The Bermuda Pentagon” — The Interplay between FMLA, ADAAA, Workers Comp, GINA and PTO (when an employee has a medical/health issue and the employer has to figure out how to deal with it without getting sued) (our Firm can counsel your company to consider how to comply with its various overlapping and sometimes incongruous responsibilities, provide required notices, engage in the interactive process, consider reasonable accommodations, etc.);

“The Night of the Living Dead” — Retaliation and Pretaliation (just when you thought you could separate employees from the company, they’re baaaack. Some employees file pre-emptive claims just so that their employers will be reluctant to terminate them out of fear of being hit with a retaliation claim, hence “Pretaliation”) (our Firm can counsel your company on what steps to take to deal with the potential exposure);

“Freddie Krueger Meets Jason” — Social Media Meets Employment Law (as social media becomes a larger part of our personal lives and the business duties of employees, the law is struggling to keep up with the advances of technology, as new types of claims are surfacing and employers are becoming more uncertain of how to handle their employees’ misuse and abuse of social media) (our Firm can help establish Social Media policies for your company and counsel you on an ongoing basis to deal with issues that arise 24/7); and

“The Revenge of Lilly Ledbetter” — Equal Pay Claims (more women are suing to recover pay equal to what is paid to their male counterparts) (our Firm can review your practices and compensation structure and help your company be proactive to help avoid claims from arising).

The Schwarzberg & Associates Employment Law and Compliance Team has extensive experience in developing effective policies, procedures and proactive responsive measures to deal with a myriad of workplace issues. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our members; Steve Schwarzberg or Lisa Kohring at (561) 659-3300 to obtain more information about our firm and its various employment law compliance and defense services.