Legal Updates

E-Verify Now Required for Most Georgia Employers

As of July 1, 2013, all private employers in Georgia with 11 or more employees must use E-Verify, the federal online system for confirming whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States.  This requirement has been in place for the last year and a half for larger employers, following passage of Georgia’s Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011 (IREA).  All...Read More

11th Circuit: Bosses Can Be Personally Liable for Unpaid Overtime Even if Workers Are Undocumented

Many employers would be surprised to learn not only that undocumented workers can sue for unpaid overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), but also that company supervisors, officers, directors, and owners can be personally liable for such damages.  In Lamonica et al. v. Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc. et al. (No. 07-cv-61295), the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals...Read More

U.S. Supreme Court Will Decide Standard of Proof in Title VII Retaliation Cases

In what is likely to be one of the more important decisions in the employment law arena this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case in which it will decide whether, in a Title VII retaliation action, a plaintiff employee must prove that the employer would not have taken an adverse employment action but for the employee’s protected activity, or instead need only prove that the protected...Read More

Training Tip: Hit All the Right Notes in Employment Decisions

Employers often ask whether an employment action would comply with employment laws.  Often, that is the wrong question.  Ultimately, whether a decision is lawful often depends on motive, which can be a matter of dispute.  Employers should ask, “In the event of a legal dispute regarding this decision, who would be believed, and why?” Even better, before taking a significant action,...Read More

Reminder From Texas That Oral Employment Agreements Can Be Enforced

A recent case from Texas serves as a good reminder that promises made in the workplace can be enforced under certain circumstances, even if they are not in writing. The Texas Court of Appeals was not persuaded by an employer’s argument that an agreement to continue providing sales commissions to its employee even after his employment ended was unenforceable simply because it was an oral...Read More