• COMPANY MANUALS: The importance of the company manual cannot be overstated in today's complex employment environment. A well-drafted personnel manual can serve as a valuable sourcebook for employees. It can also provide substantial protection for employers. Because the law of the workplace is rapidly changing, employers are well advised not only to have a well-drafted company manual, but to have the manual reviewed frequently to ensure that the manual complies with the current state of the law as reflected by legislation and judicial decisions.
  
  
• ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT: It is not illegal for an employer to engage in discrimination, per se. That is, an employer may decide to terminate an employee because he or she is not able to perform the tasks of the job as well as another employee, or is unable to fit into the corporate culture of the organization. However, employment decisions may not be made on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, creed, color, religion, gender and so on, nor is an employer permitted to retaliate against an employee who complains of discrimination in the workplace, whether that discrimination is directed at the complaining employee or others in the workplace. An employer is also not permitted to treat persons differently in the workplace as a result of a protected characteristic, such as race or gender. Harassment of women and minorities, or hostile treatment in response to a person's race, color or creed is strictly prohibited. Powerful legal remedies exist for illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and both employees and employers are well advised to endeavor to understand the complex set of rules applied to prohibit employment discrimination.
  
  
• SEVERANCE CONTRACT: A severance contract is a written agreement between an employer and a terminated employee. Ordinarily, the company in such a contract agrees to pay compensation to the employee in recognition of the fact that he or she will be unemployed for some period of time and in need of income. In exchange for this compensation, the employee agrees not to bring any legal action against the company arising from the employment relationship or the termination. Because severance agreements help employees in times of need and provide employers with protection from lawsuits, such agreements often times are in the best interest of all concerned.
  
  
• VIOLATIONS OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA): Under the FLSA, employees are entitled to time-and-a-half pay for each hour over 40 hours worked in a workweek, unless they are exempt from the Act. The FLSA stipulates that employers do not have to pay overtime to higher level workers in executive, administrative and professional jobs. However, the mere fact that an employee is given a title, classified by an employer as exempt and paid on a salary basis does not automatically remove that employee from the protection of the FLSA. Rather, determinative factors include whether the primary duties and responsibilities of the employee comply with applicable federal standards and are commonly associated with management. In recent years it has been learned that many companies have operated for years in violation of the FLSA. An action for violations of the FLSA can be brought as an individual lawsuit or as a class action, and these cases can cover unpaid wages spanning several years. Because there are strict statutes of limitation covering these types of cases, it is essential that prompt legal action be taken when a FLSA violation is discovered.
  
  
• WRONGFUL TERMINATION: Ordinarily, both the employer and employee are free to terminate the employment relationship at any time and for any reason. This rule is in recognition of the reality that employees can always change jobs at will, and employers need to be free to make staffing change decisions without fear of legal consequences. However, there are circumstances in which this general rule does not apply. This is true when an employee is terminated or treated unfairly because of discrimination based upon characteristics such as race, creed, color, religion, gender, and so on, or when an employee is singled out for retaliation for engaging in protected activities, such as serving on a jury, reporting a crime, or any other act which is deemed to be in furtherance of an important public policy.

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