The Employer Handbook Blog

Yesterday, I presented "Reducing the Risk of Wage and Hour Litigation" with my partner, Jennifer Platzkere Snyder, at ALM's In-House Counsel Labor and Employment Law Forum. We talked best practices, common mistakes, and Supreme Court.

We also dipped into some hot issues, the hottest of which, by far, based on audience engagement, was unpaid internships. Oh boy, is it easy for companies to potentially screw up unpaid internships. Just ask Charlie Rose and Harper's Bazaar. 

Want to get 'em right without running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Six steps to success follow after the jump...

Continue reading "6 keys to keeping unpaid internships from becoming a hot wage & hour mess" »

After the jump, you'll meet Karenza Clincy. She, along with other "nude, female exotic dancers," sued The Onyx (safe for work), an Atlanta Nightclub, for wage and hour violations. The club claims that the dancers are independent contractors. The plaintiff-dancers claim that they are employees -- and employees get minimum wage and time-and-a-half for overtime.

Who wins? We all do. Hit the jump for a trip down to the A-T-L (feat. Ludacris) and -- what the heck were we talking about -- oh yeah, the answer to some legal question...

Continue reading "What's the tax treatment on a Georgia lap dance anyway?" »

In an unpublished opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Pennsylvania company's attempt to enjoin a former employee, who had entered into several restrictive covenants with the company, to compete directly against the company and solicit its customers.

What did this employer do wrong and how can you learn from its mistakes?

After the jump...

Continue reading "Misclassifying an employee may void a non-compete agreement" »