Blog Posts: Employment

You may have heard that Arizona is an "at will" state. It is. This means that employees work at "the will" of the employer. Just as employees can keep working or resign if they wish, employers can terminate employees for a good reason or even for no reason. Employers get in trouble, however, when they fire employees for "bad" reasons. Some bad reasons are obvious....

No doubt being overweight can pose a health problem. But is it a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 (ADA) that bars employers from discriminating against employees or prospective employees who are obese? According to a recent decision of the Montana Supreme Court and similar decisions in the federal courts, it is, or at least can...

If it hasn't happened to your company yet, it will. One of your employees may post a disparaging remark on-line about the company, company practices or a member of management.  The employee may even use profanity in the posting. However, before you react and fire the employee you should know that, depending on the nature of the posting, the employee may be en...

Video Transcript My name is Kraig Marton and I work in Healthcare here at Jaburg & Wilk. Do healthcare professionals have to report legal trouble to their licensing board? It turns out that healthcare professionals have a duty to report certain things to their licensing board. What kind of charges must be reported? Any kind of felony must be reported, ag...

Many employees come in to work and suddenly find themselves laid off or terminated and without a job.  The termination comes as a complete surprise.   The employee has received warning signs which may or may not have been recognized.  If an employee looks for and can recognize the signs, the employee may be able to avoid the termination, look for another job wh...

Employer Drug Testing Video Transcript Can an employer require drug testing in the workplace? You know, an employer can require drug testing. In fact, an employer may have a duty to require drug testing because the employer has an obligation to make the workplace safe to the employees, to customers and to anyone else who comes there. Does an employee have to submi...

The Americans with Disabilities Act, as Amended ("ADA"), and the Arizona Civil Rights Act ("ACRA") require employers with 15 or more employees to provide "reasonable accommodations" to employees with a qualifying "disability." The ADA and ACRA define a "disability" as any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person's major life a...

In a recent article, I warned all employers that government agencies are out to bust them for misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. The prior article discussed the efforts made by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) in partnership with a number of states, including Arizona, to step up the enforcement of laws pertaining to properly class...

It should come as no surprise that the workplace environment is rapidly changing. In the past, many industries have routinely hired temporary or part time workers and called them independent contractors.  After all, it is a lot easier and saves money.  But those days may be changing.  Changes in policy and stepped up enforcement now make it highly risky for any ...

Warren Buffett once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it".  That was said before the Internet era.  Today a defamatory tweet, blog post or Facebook posting can tarnish a reputation that you've carefully built over your career.  When you or your company have been defamed online, there are legal options available t...