Employment Law Information

Archive for October, 2009

In the 1960s, many affirmative action policies and practices were put into place. These practices were meant to act as a way of making it up to previously discriminated against groups their lack of advancement. The practices could mean applying extra points to an employment exam or having some sort of quota in place to ensure that some level of diversity was created or maintained within the company or division.

As a result of the affirmative action programs, there have been a number of cases where non-minority people have alleged that they have been the victims of reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination is something like ordinary discrimination but it involves discriminating against an otherwise qualified non-minority in favor of a lesser qualified minority candidate. The reason for the preference may be that the company may not want to appear to be racist or may just want to ensure a certain amount of diversity within the organization.

One of the biggest places that reverse discrimination has come into play has been in schools and universities. Students who have been refused admittance have alleged that they were refused admittance to the undergraduate or graduate program because they were not a minority. In one situation involving a law school, the courts told the individuals claiming reverse discrimination that they were, quite frankly, nuts for thinking that the law school would ever have admitted them. Yes they were passed over but not because they were non-minorities. Rather, they were passed over because they really weren’t qualified for the school.

Reverse discrimination in the workplace may be harder to find or successfully allege since there frequently aren’t specific criteria that can determine raises, advancements, or hiring in general. Individuals who are invited to interview can make or break their employment based on how their interview goes; it is not all dependent on one’s degree or previous experience, although those things do help.

Reverse discrimination is commonly alleged in the advancement of teachers and school administrators. This can happen because these positions sometimes carry tests with them to determine who moves on to the next level. While it is not too common, it is possible for someone who scores a perfect score not to be advanced because an individual that scored less on the actual test (or got more questions wrong) beats him or her out because of points added on for various factors not relating to test scores or experience.

The Houston employment lawyers of the Ross Law Group are dedicated to fighting discrimination in the workplace in all shapes and forms.

Joseph Devine

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Wrongful termination is a very big term that covers a lot of different scenarios and circumstances. In general, though, it refers to the termination of an employee’s contract of employment in violation of the contract, a written company policy. Wrongful termination is illegal, and if you fire somebody without cause, you can open yourself up to some unwanted legal trouble. Make sure you are familiar not only with the state law but also your company’s policies regarding employment before you make any employment decision, as it could become a costly error if you don’t.

As already mentioned, there are several different acts that fall under the greater heading of wrongful termination. The following are the most common examples of such:

• Discrimination. It is illegal to fire an employee based on his or her race, sex, nationality, religion, age, or (in some states) sexual orientation.
• Retaliation. It is illegal to fire an employee because he or she has filed a harassment or discrimination complaint. Such a termination is considered a retaliatory action, and is illegal under civil rights laws.
• Refusal to commit an illegal act. If you have ordered an employee to commit an illegal act – hide funds, say, or shred documents – and he or she refuses, it is illegal to fire that employee.
• Failure to follow termination procedures. Most employers of a certain size have a policy in place that describes the conditions under which an employee can be fired, and what procedures must be undertaken. If these written procedures are not followed to the letter, the fired employee may have the right to sue you for wrongful termination.

It’s important to know that, in some states, employment alone is considered an employment contract, and that no physical document has to be signed by either party for there to be a legally binding agreement between the two. The terms of this contract may be influenced by your company’s employee handbook. If you are an employer, you may want to consider discussing the legality of any employment issues with a qualified employment attorney beforehand, as it can help you avoid the potentially damaging wrongful termination lawsuit. These court cases can drag on for well over a decade, if they go to the top courts. It is definitely better to be cautious in this situation.

To find out more about employment law, visit slaterandkennon.com.

Joseph Devine

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It is unfortunate but sometimes workers are injured on the job to the point that death occurs or is inevitable following the injury. Many families are left with the financial insecurity instability that comes when the main wage earner stops earning wages. In addition, they must learn to live without the person in their lives completely. This can be a very difficult situation for a family to deal with, usually not made any easier by fights with workers compensation insurers or insurance companies in general.

One of the biggest problems with workers’ compensation insurance for a company is that it still requires an injured party to go through an insurance company to receive his or her payments. Insurance companies are notorious for dragging their feet, regardless of who they are supposed to pay, and this is true even in workers’ compensation situations. For a family dealing with the loss of a loved one as well, it can be an excruciating experience to a family suffering the loss of a loved one.

In most situations, a family whose loved one has died as a result of a workplace accident or injury can apply for workers compensation death benefits. These benefits are typically available to the descendants and dependents of the party can collect. The benefits available are designed to provide monetary support for the people who have been affected the most by the employee’s death. The individuals eligible to receive the workers’ compensation death benefits are the people who are most likely to have been significantly affected by the death.

In many cases, the family relationships involved and/or the household composition is important to determine who is eligible to receive the benefits. Some areas or states have specific lists of family relationships that make a person eligible while others might have guidelines. In areas with guidelines rather than set rules, in-laws, stepchildren, unmarried partners, and even unrelated individuals that still live in the house and were supported by the deceased may qualify. Because of the benevolent nature of this type of benefit, a state is much more likely to be liberal in naming beneficiaries.

When the employee dies, the family is likely to receive two different types of benefits. The first type is for the expenses relating to the funeral and the burial. The second type of expense is designed to ensure that the family does not starve after the death occurs. These are more support payments than anything else.

The South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyers of the Steinberg Law Firm understand the difficulties faced by a family after a loved one is unexpectedly taken.

Joseph Devine

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