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Tag: employment laws

Employment Laws for Management

While an employee needs to be aware of their rights and some of the laws as an employee for a business, entity or company, a manager or supervisor needs to be aware of ALL of the legal laws and rules when it comes to labor and employment laws.  Most of the companies out there work diligently and closely with Human Resources to make sure that certain laws and rules are being followed. If you are a supervisor, manager or even an assistant manager, there are certain laws that you should be aware of when it comes to employees and employment laws to ensure compliance in a company.  These laws can be found below, make sure you brush up on these laws and are aware of any updates or changes in the New Year.  If you are an employee reading this article and you read the information below, make sure you talk to a New Jersey employment Attorney before making any brash decisions.

Rights for Salary Versus Hourly Employees

When it comes to salary laws versus hourly employees the laws are created by the U.S. Department of Labor in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.  While the rules are created by the U.S. Department of Labor is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, they are enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.  The Wage and Hour division are also the people that investigate things like employee claims, and unfair practices such as minimum wage, OT, working hours and more.  If you ever wondered about the differences between salaried and hourly employees or you are in one position offering one type of pay and are being offered another position for another type of pay, it’s a good idea to do some research and get familiar with the rules for each position, as well as labor laws.  Below, we will be going over the law, the two types of employees that work in house, differences between salaried and hourly employees – the good and the not so good, as well as who enforces the laws and what can be done if you find that certain laws or rules are being broke.

Is My Boss a Bully?

In certain situations where you are the employee and the boss is the big honcho he or she might find it funny to belittle you.  Frankly, I dislike people like this.  People that think just because they are the “boss” that they can treat employees however they want because they can.  But, there is a line between someone being a bully – a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk, and someone physically hurting you or discriminating against you because of your weight, skin color, orientation or you origin.  If your boss is a bully, you’ll probably know he’s a bully by the way it makes you feel and or look in front of others.  For example, let’s say you have a boss and he kicked you, like he physically kicked you with his foot.  Is this against the law?  If anything physical ever happens at the office, here are things you will want to know when it concerns the law or contacting an employment lawyer in NJ.

Employment Law for Independent Contractors

Independent contractors are on the rise in the United States. With growing healthcare costs and a lagging economy, companies are doing more and more of their hiring on a contract basis. Independent contractors are in business for themselves. They are self employed, meaning they do not work directly for companies and have not been hired as actual employees. There are advantages and disadvantages to being an independent contractor. The advantages include the ability to decide your own hours, to choose when and for whom you want to work, and to negotiate your own terms and rate of pay. Drawbacks include the requirement of paying your own taxes as well as purchasing your own health insurance. The employment laws that pertain to independent contractors are not as comprehensive as those that pertain to the employer-employee relationship, in part because of the very nature of being an independent contractor. People who work for themselves often do so because they choose to work on their own terms.

Working From Home Work

Employment Law for Freelancers

More people than ever are joining the ranks of those who have cast off the shackles of the ‘workaday world’ (as your grandfather used to call it), deciding instead to become freelancers. But what does it mean when you hear someone say they ‘freelance’? And is an independent contractor or a consultant the same as a freelancer? The short answer? No one knows. Well, of course, employment lawyers know the difference, but if you try typing the question into a search engine, you’re likely to get a thousand different answers from a thousand different people (and not to mention bickering from here ’til the end of cyberspace). Most would agree, however, that the terms ‘freelancer,’ ‘independent contractor,’ and ‘consultant’ are oft used interchangeably … with one major difference, and that difference comes in the word ‘contract.’ Oftentimes, freelancers will work under contract … and oftentimes they won’t. Independent contractors, however, are called such because they work under contract. True, most who consider themselves to be freelancers tend to work in artistic pursuits. However, artists can also be independent contractors simply because they can work under contracts. But what about the employment laws that pertain to freelancers? Are they that much different from the employment laws regarding employees?

Laws that Protect Whistleblowers

When pursuing a whistleblower case the first step is to carefully check all th laws ans statutes that may apply to your given situation. An example is that although the Whistleblower Protection Act is well?known and has been extensively talked about it only actually covers a small part of the working population. When trying a case and not a federal employee, the case gets covered under different rules of protection altogether. An employment lawyer can work with you to set up some specific laws that pertain to your case if you are going to seek legal recourse.

Whistle Blower Protection Laws

Whistleblower Protection
Whistleblower Protection

Each year there are thousands of workers who witness some sort of wrongdoing on the job. They may discover fraud, abuse, or any type of actions which could jeopardize the well being, safety or lives of other people. Workers may witnesses a food processing plant which sends out contaminated food to consumers, violation of safety considerations at a nuclear facility, fraud that deceives a company’s stockholders, or a chemical company which dumps hazardous waste illegally into waterways. Too many times employees stay silent usually out of the fear of losing their jobs. Others step forward and share the truth risking their profession as well as their own well being to do so. These workers “blow the whistle” on various types of unethical conduct that occurs in the workplace in an attempt to make a difference.  Basically, a whistleblower is one who discloses information that they believe to be evidence of some sort of wrongdoing on behalf of a company; or they reveal instances which may be jeopardizing the health and safety of the public in some way. Usually, a whistleblower speaks to influencing parties that can correct the situation. The whistleblower is afforded certain rights and protection by laws that are designed specifically for the purpose of protecting them.