The definition of an "employee" in Webster's and the classification of an employee under federal law can sometimes part ways. What constitutes an "employee" is a recurring question, and not just merely an academic one.
The Associated Press reported late last week that national payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. ("ADP") had accidentally faxed confidential employee information of client employees working in Illinois, Florida and California to a Nashua, New Hampshire financial planner. This mishap raises issues that employers must consider when dealing with confidential employee information including addresses, social security numbers and income data that could be the basis of identity theft.
On October 12, 2005, JobLawViews reported that the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in a whistleblower case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, that might signal the direction that the newly staffed Court could take in employment law cases. This Tuesday, May 30, the Court decided the Garcetti case, and the alignment of the various Justices in that decision is indeed informative.
For those who have inquired, Jim Pranger has been involved in the preparation and trial of a multi-week federal court jury case in Omaha, Nebraska for several weeks. His postings will return in the next week or two.
It's amazing what you see when you review the handbooks that employers actually use. If nothing else, we should recognize the absolute need to carefully inspect and proofread before publishing policies to employees. Sometimes mistakes are merely amusing; sometimes they can be dangerous.
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