Archive by Author
Drug Testing: How Far Can Employers Go?
Issue: July 2010 by Joshua Dalrymple, Esq..
Substance abuse has reached epidemic proportions in this country, and the effect on employers is significant. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that in 1997, 73 percent of then-current drug users ages 18 and older were employed. This includes 6.7 million full-time workers and 1.6 million part-time workers. Unfortunately, these substance abuse [...]
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Employee Dress Codes: What is Enforceable?
Issue: May 2010 by Joshua Dalrymple, Esq..
At some point, most employers will be faced with the difficult task of creating and enforcing employee dress and grooming standards. These standards are usually focused on increasing productivity and presenting a certain image to clients or customers. In recent years, many employers have relaxed the dress code in an effort to make employees more [...]
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Right to Privacy in the Workplace: Emails, Text Messages
Issue: April 2010 by Joshua Dalrymple, Esq..
The United States Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this month about whether an employer can view an employee’s text messages. The case, Ontario v. Quon, involves a police officer who was fired after supervisors read some sexually explicit text messages on a pager provided to the officer by the city. The Supreme Court [...]
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Taxes: What to look for as you file this year
Issue: March 2010 by Joshua Dalrymple, Esq..
Educating yourself on the benefits and consequences of proper tax planning can have a dramatic effect on your business. It is important to understand that the government uses tax revenue not only to pay for expenditures, but also to influence the behavior of individuals and businesses, and 2009 was no exception. By capitalizing on new [...]
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At-will Employment? Right-to-Work? What Does It All Mean?
Issue: February 2010 by Joshua Dalrymple, Esq..
With rising unemployment rates and a failing economy, employment law is becoming more of a headache for employers, employees and lawyers alike. It seems that almost everyone understands the rules of the game for an employee that quits and finds work elsewhere. However, almost nobody understands the rules when the employee is terminated. At my [...]