Cincinnati, Ohio Employment Law Attorneys
Representing primarily employers, the downtown Cincinnati employment law firm of Beckman Weil Shepardson LLC handles all aspects of employee and labor relations, including counseling, termination, staffing, communication, discrimination, sexual harassment, workers’ compensation, OSHA, alternative dispute resolution, wage and hour issues, common law employment claims, and collective bargaining.
Our Employment Lawyers Representing Employers
Our employment and labor law attorneys continuing our firm’s forty-year tradition of working for the benefit of the community in a personalized manner include Peter L. Cassady, Brian G. Dershaw, and Brian R. Redden.
The following Employment Law Information center is provided for general informational purposes only, and is not intended to be taken as legal advice for any particular employment law matter. You may also want to visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
For personalized counsel in any federal, Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana employment law issue, contact one of the Beckman Weil Shepardson LLC employment and labor attorneys by phone or E-mail in order to schedule a consultation.
For a personal response, contact the employment law attorneys at Beckman Weil Shepardson LLC to schedule a consultation.
This is an Advertisement
The content of the Beckman Weil Shepardson LLC web site is for general informational purposes only. This information is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Use of this web site or the submission of email does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you send us email and we do not already represent you, the contents of your email may not be treated as privileged or confidential. Online readers should not act upon information in this site without seeking professional counsel.
Employment Law from an Employer Perspective
An employer must be cognizant of state and federal laws that govern employee hiring, compensation, treatment and termination.
If you are an employer facing legal issues in any aspect of employment, consult an employment law attorney at our firm for guidance.
Anti-Discrimination Laws
Many legal matters arise in the hiring of new employees. Of course, one of the most important areas of concern is to ensure that all hiring decisions are made for legitimate, job-related reasons not involving illegal discrimination. Broadly, federal law forbids discrimination in employment based on race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, military service or veteran status, union affiliation or citizenship. Your state and local laws may add protection to other classifications, such as sexual orientation. To show compliance with anti-discrimination laws, the reasons for hiring or rejecting a job candidate should be well documented.
Immigration Matters
Employers must follow federal immigration laws when hiring new employees. Because an employer may only hire workers legally authorized to work in the US, the employer must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) for each new hire. The I-9 requires the employer to certify that it has reviewed particular legal documents proving the new employee's legal work status. I-9s must remain on file with the employer for possible government review for a set period of time.
An additional method for employers is E-Verify, which allows electronic validation of new hires' legitimate work status through a joint program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Originally optional for all employers except those with federal government contracts, E-Verify may now be either required or forbidden for certain employers, depending on applicable state law.
Government Data
To determine appropriate tax withholding from wages a new hire must complete the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, usually referred to as a W-4. W-4s are usually retained by the employer. The employer must also follow any requirements for withholding and reporting to the state tax agency.
Employers must also adhere to state laws that govern notifying a state labor or employment agency of a new hire or registering as a new employer. Federal law requires that each state maintain a State Directory of New Hires (SDNH) to which employers must send new employee identifying information. SDNH information is used for child-support enforcement and other purposes, including interstate child-support enforcement through a national directory.
Compensation
The federal minimum-wage law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which was amended by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 to raise the minimum wage in three stages. Before the 2007 act, the minimum wage was $5.15 per hour, where it had been for about ten years. The Act raised the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour on July 24, 2007, with subsequent 70-cent raises scheduled on that same date both in 2008 and in 2009.
Some industries are permitted to pay a lower minimum wage and some employees are not covered by the FLSA, most notably executive, administrative and professional employees. In addition, employees who regularly receive tips, apprentices, some workers with disabilities and younger workers may receive lower wages under certain conditions.
State law can set a higher minimum wage; however, only a few states do so. If state law sets a lower minimum wage, the employer must pay the higher federal minimum wage to eligible employees. Usually the lower state minimum is appropriately paid to FLSA-exempt employees.
Leave
Two main federal statutes cover employee leave time. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows covered employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with certain family issues. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994 (USERRA) governs the impact of leave for active military service on job security and employment benefits.
Termination
At-will employment is the standard throughout most of the United States and means that an employee can be fired any time for any reason as long as the reason is legal, or for no reason. At the same time, an employee can leave the job at any time for any reason.
If a valid employment contract includes a provision requiring that termination may only be for cause, the employer must have a legitimate ground for firing the employee. When terminating employees, employers may have additional legal obligations imposed by law or by collective-bargaining agreements.
Conclusion
In all aspects of employment an employer must be aware of existing law, both state and federal.
Current or potential employers should consult an employment law attorney at our firm for additional information and guidance.
Copyright ©2007 FindLaw, a Thomson Business
DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.
