Below are 8 key questions relating to the H1N1 flu that employers need to be prepared to address in the days and weeks ahead. The answers that follow below should help employers navigate through uncertain times that lie ahead.

By Clifford S. Anderson, Esq.

For years, employers have faced the prospect of federal and state law employment discrimination claims based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Soon, another major category of persons will be protected under federal law. The new class of covered persons has emerged due to the exponential evolution in technology and science,

by John J. Steffenhagen, Esq.

On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the first bill of his administration: the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Hailed by many as an enhancement to laws that govern equal pay, businesses are left to sort out whether and how the act truly affects employers who paid attention to existing laws in the first place.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime, recording, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.

On May 25, 2007, President Bush signed a bill that among other things would amend the FLSA to increase the federal minimum wage in three steps:

1) Effective July 24, 2007 nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $5.85 per hour;

2)

The Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program, conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") and the Social Security Administration ("SSA"), is a program that allows employers to run employment authorization checks against DHS and SSA databases on-line during the hiring process.

More than 10,000 employers are currently using the program to verify that their new hires are authorized to work in the United States. There is no charge to participate. Employers can register

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") is upping the ante for employers who try to skirt the immigration laws by employing illegal immigrants. ICE is coordinating its efforts with the Social Security Administration ("SSA") to locate employers who may be violating immigration employment laws. Investigation of employers who report invalid or non-matching SSA numbers is leading to severe consequences. In the past, employers who were caught violating immigration laws could expect a fine

Many employers view company-owned materials, such as client lists, formulas, accounting and marketing methods and other business documents, as "trade secrets." Under the law, trade secret protection is afforded but only if the employer takes steps to treat these documents as confidential and provides notice to employees of the status of the materials. Many employers are surprised to discover after an employee has left the company, the employee has relative freedom in the use of materials that t

If you are reading this article, there is a good chance that you have received a letter at some point from the Social Security Administration (SSA), or that you fear that you will one day receive a letter from the SSA advising you that an employee's name and Social Security Number (SSN) that were reported to the SSA do not agree with the SSA's records. What should you do?

Surprisingly, the SSA has no enforcement authority; therefore, one has no obligation to respond to the "no-match" lett

Does your company have confidential information it considers a trade secret? In Minnesota, competition is highly favored; however, competitors cannot misappropriate another's trade secrets.

In order for information to be a trade secret, two factors must be present:

1.) The information cannot be generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means

2.) It must be the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

Under certain circumstances, courts have deemed the foll

What happens if I properly complete a Form I-9 and the Immigration Service discovers that my employee is not actually authorized to work?

If the employer has complied with the necessary verification procedures, it cannot be charged with a verification violation; however, the employer cannot continue to employ this individual after receiving information that the employee is not authorized for employment. It is best to have a system in place for verifying employment eligibility and I-9 completion,