Employment Law Questions

Employment law rules and regulations have been created to protect the interests of both employers and employees in the workplace. They cover many issues like wages, benefits, non-discrimination, health and safety policies. If you have questions relating to employment law, contact Employment Lawyers on JustAnswer. Listed below are a few questions answered by Employment Lawyers on employment law issues.

My wife and I work for a company in Texas that my brother is now interviewing with. My brother was involved in telemedicine earlier, which the government was against. Later, he pleaded guilty to drug diversion based on his lawyer’s advice and is still awaiting his sentence. The company is going public with an IPO soon and does not want to court negative publicity. Under employment law, is there a chance that my wife and I will have our employment terminated because we knew of my brother’s trouble with the law and didn’t tell the company?

You work in a “right to work” state where employees cannot be forced by employers to join unions to secure employment. Besides that, employees can be terminated at any time by employers for reasons that are not against the law or are not discriminatory in nature. Discriminatory reasons would include factors like religion, race, gender, and national origin. For more information on this, you could visit Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If an employee belongs to a union, has signed an employment contract, or follows an employment manual with certain clauses specified, there may be only specific ways in which an employer could terminate employment. Otherwise, under the law, employment could be terminated for reasons that you specified or for almost any reason at all.

Suppose an employee signs up for a pre-taxed benefit and, before deductions are made, decides to change his or her mind. If the employer also agrees, can the employee cancel the pre-taxed insurance as no tax break or deduction was given?

Usually, if this is an ERISA controlled Plan or IRS governed plan, and the employee’s decision has been recorded by the employer, then an employee has to wait till the next open enrollment or change period to make any changes. Under the law, an employer cannot take any action that is contrary to the plan or the Internal Revenue Code. However, the employer could ask a lawyer to look into the matter and offer a legal opinion after looking at the facts. The decision, though, hinges on whether or not the employee was already enrolled in the plan or not.

A large university consistently advertises “open” positions which have already been filled. Isn’t it a violation of federal employment law to post false advertisements?

This is not a federal law violation. A lot of institutions constantly recruit people or think of expanding or replacing their staff and place ads for that purpose. However, if there is fraud and misrepresentation of facts, a common law claim can be filed.

My company in Georgia has gone broke, and they would like us to continue working for sometime until money comes in and they can give us our back pay. If I refuse, I am worried that they’ll give me a separation notice that says “resigned” and not “laid off,” making it tough for me to file for unemployment. What can I do?

Employees cannot be required by employers to work without pay. And they must be paid on time. If your company has said that there is no money to pay your salary, you could file for unemployment and claim constructive discharge on the basis that your employer cannot pay you.

I worked for a company in Georgia for only seven months and quit after my supervisor gave me a stern disciplinary letter. I have 80 hours of PTO time accrued, and according to my employee handbook, only if I complete a year can I be eligible for a payout, unless state law says otherwise. Do I have any rights under employment law?

Your state does not have laws that govern vacation leave. So it is up to your employer to decide what to do. As your handbook says that you need to be employed for a year to have earned your leave, you are not entitled to get paid for the leave that you didn’t take while employed. Understanding employment law is important to avoid misunderstandings between employers and employees and foster a healthy working relationship. Get all your employment law questions answered in the simplest and most affordable manner by contacting Employment Lawyers on JustAnswer now.