When accepting a job offer, or even a promotion, you need to understand the differences between being compensated on an hourly versus on a salary basis. Both payment methods offer their own individual benefits to an employee and have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on the employee's circumstances.
Are you concerned about over-40 severance agreement terms?
Perhaps you are 45 years old, and you are leaving a company where you worked as a member of senior management.
Your employer must draft the severance agreement properly, and there are special requirements for employees like you who are age 40 and older. Do you have questions about terms and the validity of the agreement overall?
Disability Discrimination in the Workplace
Government Shutdown - The Effect on Federal Employees
The partial government shutdown, which started on December 22, 2018, has had many effects on federal employees. According to CBS News, as a result of the government shutdown, approximately 380,000 federal employees have been furloughed - a temporary leave of absence without pay. The Senate Appropriations Committee estimates that the estimated 380,000 furloughed employees include about 86% of Department of Commerce employees, roughly 96% of NASA employees, about 52,000 IRS workers and approximately 95% of Housing and Urban Development employees.
Workplace Retaliation
Age Discrimination
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Have you been passed over for a promotion due to your faith?
Let us say you have been working as a receptionist for a well-established marketing communications firm here in Rhode Island. You qualify for a promotion to office manager, but a less-experienced woman got the job. You believe you were passed over because of your religion. What should you do?
Why this happened
Third-Party Sexual Harassment
Third-Party Sexual Harassment
It is most common for sexual harassment in the workplace to stem from employer-employee interactions. However, sexual harassment, in an employment context, is not limited to sexual harassment between employees. Third-party sexual harassment may be caused by an "outsider" (e.g., customers, vendors, independent contractors, security guards, maintenance and repair personnel, and/or caterers).
According to The New York Times article, "The Tipping Equation," third-party sexual harassment is extremely prevalent in situations where employees rely on customer gratuities. The article explains the difficulties faced by tipped employees in reporting third-party sexual harassment because they depend on customer gratuities for a majority of their wages.
Rhode Island Sick Leave Law
On July 1, 2018, Rhode Island joined seven other states when the Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act ("Act") went into effect. The Act, signed into law last September by Governor Gina Raimondo, requires employers with 18 or more employees to provide paid sick leave and employers with 17 or less employees to provide unpaid sick leave. The total number of sick leave hours a full-time employee can earn increases every year. For the remainder of 2018, the Act allows full-time employees to earn up to twenty-four (24) hours of sick leave, but in 2019 employees can earn up to thirty-two (32) hours and in 2020 up to forty (40) hours.
3 questions to ask if you believe you were wrongfully terminated
Working in Rhode Island means you work for an at-will employer. Though there are federal laws in place to offer protection against unlawful terminations, many people find themselves in the unemployment line after developing medical issues that interfere with their ability to show up and perform their jobs.
If you feel you were wrongfully terminated because of attendance issues related to your health, you might have a wrongful termination claim. Dealing with unemployment and health issues can bring about a great deal of stress and lead to confusion. Here are a few questions to consider if you feel your employer wrongfully fired you due to your health:
