Legal Aid Employment Law

Q.What is Labor Law?

A. Employment Law or Labor Law concerns the legal relationship between employers and employees. Statutes regarding labor law are observed at all levels of government, from federal to say, to county and city. Labor law determines. When an employer makes an offer for employment to a worker the legislation regulating the relationship between an employer and an employee starts. Labor law regulates the connection between employer and employee -- the hiring process, job responsibilities, wages, promotions, rewards, occupation reviews and conclusion of the employment relationship. It has litigation on the basis of unfair labor laws and practices. According to the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics project bias lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts jumped from 6,936 from 1990 to 21,540 in 1998.

Q. Can a former employer giving negative job references to prospective companies be sued for libel?

A. Generally, statements made by a former employer to inquiries from a potential employer can be made without the fear of being sued later. However, that protection is lost if there are any suggestions, inferences, innuendos, etc. that would lead a potential employer to think something misleading or untruthful about the worker. The difficulty is proving that the statements were incorrect and wrong. Many human resources sections provide references, such as the date the worker started, the date he left, and salary information.

Q. Is a business required to provide medical, life and similar insurance coverages for its employees?

A. Although it is not uncommon to supply these kinds of "employee benefit" coverage for workers, the legislation generally doesn't require a business to do so. Businesses supply these and similar advantages to attract and keep workers and as an additional form of reimbursement. Companies that employ unionized workers must supply whatever benefits are needed by the terms of their union contracts, and in addition it may be necessary to provide certain kinds of employee benefits as a condition of doing business with or for agencies or governmental entities. Many states have opted to adopt laws requiring companies that are to give health insurance. Check with your state's insurance or labour department to find out if such a law has been adopted by your state.

Q. Can an employer establish different probationary periods for new workers?

A. An employer is free to set up a probationary period for new employees, during which an employee might be terminated with or without any reason. This could make the employer vulnerable to a claim of discrimination while probationary periods may be established for categories of workers, or different employees. An employer should be prepared to justify any differences.

Q. When do I want agreements with employees, contractors, and service providers (sometimes called SLAs?)

The objective of business policies is to give notice and to establish uniform therapy and education for employees on performance and behavior in the workplace. It is a great idea to have employees sign the close of the policy statement or a different document. It is important to present the data in the hiring session to be sure that it is effective as binding to the employee.

Q. What happens if an employee is injured on the job?

A. After sickness or injury occurs, it's the employees responsibility to complete a claim form and to submit an application to either the employer or the state employees' compensation agency/board. Usually, an employer will have the claim types accessible. The claim will be submitted by the company to the insurance company. The employer is given an opportunity to react to the claim. If he does not contest the claim, the insurance company will makes payment of medical bills and salary. When the employer contests the claim to determine whether or not or how much, compensation is owed to the employee A hearing can be scheduled.