7 Employment Law Myths
- Employers don’t need a reason to terminate their employees because employees are “at-will”.
Employers always need a legitimate reason to terminate one of their employees, regardless of the “at-will” laws. According to California Labor Code, California is an “at-will” employment state. Meaning that under “at-will” presumption, a California employer may terminate an employee for any reason at any time. HOWEVER, there are exceptions to the at-will employment doctrine that can overcome California’s “at-will” employment law, and employers can be sued for wrongful termination.
- It’s best to ignore an employee’s health issue, because of privacy concerns.
Employers must engage in an “interactive process” with employees with disabilities to determine whether there are reasonable accommodations which would eliminate barriers to successful performance.
- It’s alright to fire any employee who doesn’t come to work.
Employees cannot be disciplined or terminated for absences that are for legally protected reasons. However, employers are allowed to discipline or terminate employees for unexcused or for unprotected absences.
- Employees get to say whatever they want on social media when they are off-duty because of their Free Speech rights.
Employers can discipline and terminate employees for certain on-duty and off-duty social media activity.
- It’s alright to pay all employees a monthly salary.
Only employees that meet both the “salary test” and “duties test” can be classified as overtime exempt under the Executive, Professional or Administrative exemptions of the California Wage Orders.
- Providing accommodations for employees’ with disabilities is always expensive.
The majority of workers with disabilities do not need accommodations to perform their jobs, and for those who do, the cost is usually minimal. According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a service from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, 57% of accommodations cost absolutely nothing to make, while the rest typically cost only $500. Tax incentives are also available to help employers cover the costs of accommodations.
- An employer cannot fire an employee who has a disability.
Employers are able to fire workers with disabilities under three conditions: the termination is unrelated to the disability, the employee doesn’t meet legitimate requirements for the job with or without reasonable accommodation, or because the employee’s disability poses a direct threat to health or safety in the workplace.
If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has answers, Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.
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