North Carolina Employment Legal Questions

Employers are not requried to offer any accommodation for an injury whether it occurs on the job or off unless the employee qualifies for coverage under a federal law called the Americans With Disabilities Act.  That is a complex law that requires employers with 15 or more employees to accommodate an employee who has a disability as defined under that law.  The disability must be one that substantially limits a major life acitivity and the accommodation must be "reasonable."  Employers have no duty to accommodate if the accomodation is not reasonable. You can get more information and a better understanding of whether the ADA applies to your situation by consulting with an experienced employment attorney.... Read More

I am not sure if you have a question.  The WARN act is a federal law that requires notice of certain types of plant closings and mass layoffs.  It is limited to specific types of employers.  Additionally, is not an employment discriimination or retataliation law; it is simply a notice law.  If a covered employer fails to give a covered employee the appropriate notice as required, then the employer will be liable for backpay and benefits of upto 60 days (at most - although there are separate notice requirements for local government).   There are several exceptions and exemptions including those surrounding transfers or offer of transfer for affected employees.... Read More

No, not for the lunch. Both state and federal wage and hour law only requires pay for time that you are actually working.  The employer can schedule you for as many hours as it wants, but it only required to pay you for time worked.  The exception would be for exempt employees.  However, under a special federal rule (which NC follows), short breaks during scheduled work time are treated differently and are compensable.  If the employer is giving you 15 minutes breaks, you should be paid for that. However, keep in mind that neither federal nor state law require breaks for workers over 16 years of age. That means that one way to resolve this on the employer's side is to simply get rid of the breaks.... Read More

Yes, you can be fired while on FMLA. The legal issue is whether you can file a legal claim relative to the firing.  North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be fired at any time for any reason. The only time you can file a wrongful firing claim is when you can show that there was an unlawful motive behind the firing.    In this situation, if you engaged in misconduct before your FMLA and are truly being fired for that misconduct, then there is no wrongful firing claim.  However, if your FMLA leave itself is the reason for the firing, then you will have a legal claim.... Read More

Impossible to tell based on these facts alone. North Carolinaa is an employment-at-will state where you can be fired or laid off at any time for any reason.  The only way this is unlawful is it there is a violation of a law called the Americans With Disabilities Act.  Based on these fact, it is possible there might be such a claim, but it is also possible that the law was not violated.  The only way to get an answer is to consult with an experienced attorney.... Read More

The only way to know for sure is to speak to an experienced employment attorney. However, harassment, including hostile environment, is unlawful in North Carolina only if it is based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older.  So, if what happened to you is not based on one of these "protected classes" then it simply is not unlawful in this state.  If what happened to you is based on one of these protected classes, then you may have a claim for unlawful harassment.... Read More

It is unlawful for an employer to withold money from an employees paycheck without the employee's written consent prior to the amount being withheld.  You should carefully check the contract to see if you did consent to the deduction in the contract.  If you did not sign any agree (whether in the contract or not), then you can contact the North Carolina Department of Labor about the unlawful deduction.... Read More

I am not sure I understand your question.  However, if you were an employee then the company owes you the pay you earned and it is due an payable on the normal pay day.  If you are not paid, file a claim with the North Carolina Department of Labor.  If the company does not pay you, the owners may be personnally liable for the money.... Read More

Both actions would be unlawful under North Carolina's Wage and Hour law.  Pay reductions, while allowed, must be provided in writing to the employee and can only effect future wages.  You can file a claim with the North Carolina Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Bureau.  You can also file your own lawsuit.  The problem with filing a lawsuit is that you will need to pay court costs and an attorney and the case may not be worth purusing for a few hundred dollars (or even a couple thousand).... Read More

This is an employment-at-will state which means you can be fired for any reason and there is no liability for the employer unless there is an unlawful motive for the action taken against you. There are generally only two forms of unlawful motives: unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. Discrimination in employment is unlawful if it is due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. Retaliation in employment is unlawful if you engaged in one of a handful of "legally protected" activities and were fired for engaging in that activity. If either of these was the motive for the termination, then you may have a claim for unlawful termination.   Terminating an employee who is absent from work is not unlawful regardless of whether you have a doctor's note or sick/vacation leave.  The only way this would be a violation of the law is if your sickness was part of a larger issue such as a serious health condition or disability.  If it was either, then you might - not certain, but might -- have rights under one of the two following laws:   The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees who work for covered employers with up to 12 weeks of leave for a serious health condition.  Not all employers and not all employees are covered by FMLA.  At a minimum, the employer must have at least 50 employees and the employee must have worked at least 12 months and more than 1250 hours. In general, things such as colds, the flu, upset stomach, dental problems and the like are not serious health problems.  The serious health condition can be the employee's own or of an immediate family member. If an employee on FMLA is able to return to work in 12 weeks or less, then the employer must return the employee to the same or equivalent position.  Employees are also allow to take FMLA on a intermittent basis (here and there as needed).FMLA makes it unlawful for a covered employer to interfere with an employee's FMLA rights or leave or retaliate against an employee for exercising FMLA rights.       The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants for employment due to a disability.  The ADA also requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant with a disability that will allow the person to perform the essential functions of the job.    ... Read More

This is an employment-at-will state which means he can be fired for any reason and there is no liability for the employer unless there is an unlawful motive for the action taken against him. There are generally only two forms of unlawful motives: unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. Discrimination in employment is unlawful if it is due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. Retaliation in employment is unlawful if he engaged in one of a handful of "legally protected" activities and was fired for engaging in that activity. So, to start, the employer has the right to terminate him "at will" and it has no other duty to him. However, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees due to a disability (i.e the unlawful discrimiation in the above paragraph.  The ADA also requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant with a disability that will allow the person to perform the essential functions of the job. For the purposes of the ADA, the term "employer" means someone employing at least 15 employees.  For the purposes of the ADA, the term "reasonable" is difficult to define as it will change depending on the facts and circumstances.  The ultimately quesiton though (in layman's terms) is what burden is placed on the employer and is that burden reasaonable under the circumstances. So, he can definitely be fired. If the employer has at least 15 employees, it would be unlawful for the employer to terminate him because of his disability or to deny him an accomodation which leads to his termination so long as the accomodation is reasonable.  He really needs to consult with an attorney if his employer has at least 15 employees. ... Read More

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees who work for covered employers with up to 12 weeks of leave for a serious health condition.  Not all employers and not all employees are covered by FMLA.  The serious health condition can be the employee's own or of an immediate family member. If an employee on FMLA is able to return to work in 12 weeks or less, then the employer must return the employee to the same or equivalent position.  Employees are also allow to take FMLA on a intermittent basis (here and there as needed).FMLA makes it unlawful for a covered employer to interfere with an employee's FMLA rights or leave or retaliate against an employee for exercising FMLA rights. The employer can deny FMLA for several different reasons such as the employer is not FMLA covered, the employee is not FMLA eligible, the condition is not a serious health condition (as defined by the FMLA) and other reasons.  However, I strongly recommend you set a consutlation with an experienced employment attorney to discuss your eligibility for FMLA.  If you were eligible, and were terminated in violation of the FMLA, you will be able to pursue a wrongful firing claim.  Do not delay in contacting an attorney.... Read More

Yes, it is completely legal. The legal problem is paying a salary and no overtime to someone who is entitled to overtime.  It is perfectly legal to do the opposite, i.e. to change any salary employee to hourly and pay overtime for hours over 40 in a work week.  A reduction in hourly rate is absolutely legal as long as the hourly rate is not dropped below minimum wage.... Read More

There are a number of issues here and you would be best served consulting with an experienced employment attorney on these matters.  However, if you signed a severance agreement, there may be no legal option for you as that agreement should contain a "release of claims" which will prohibit you from taking legal action.  Even so, you should have an attorney review though the agreement. It will be worth the cost. An employer has no ability to make you resign in North Carolina, but if you refuse to resign you can be subjected to disciplinary action including demotion or termination. Why?  Because this is an employment-at-will state which means you can be fired (or disciplined) at any time for any reson.  You cannot file a legal claim unless you can show there is an unlawful motive behind the decision to demote you.  The facts you post do not show any unlawful motive although perhaps there are other facts that do show an unlawful motive that you have not shared.  Again, something you can discuss with an emploment attorney in a consultation.... Read More