But something which is often overlooked is the mental health implications of accidents suffered at work. These can be much more serious than the burden of recovering from a physical injury.

Thomas Corr was a maintenance engineer working to repair a car panel machine. As he was bent down examining the fault, the machine suddenly picked up a car panel and swung it at his head.

Luckily, Mr Corr ducked instinctively and narrowly avoided being decapitated by the incident. However, he did receive a heavy blow to the head and had his right ear severed by the unpredictable machine.

While his ear healed in time and ceased to cause Mr Corr any pain, he began to suffer from tinnitus and severe migraines as a result of his injury.

The tinnitus and debilitating headaches began to have an effect on his mental state as he slowly succumbed to depression in the years following the accident.

Eventually, six years after the accident, unable to take it any longer, Mr Corr committed suicide by jumping from the top a multi storey car park.

The deterioration of his mental health was brought on by his accident at work, which consequently led to his death.

After a lengthy court battle, Mr Corr’s window was awarded compensation as his Mr Corr’s employer was deemed ultimately responsible for his death, despite him committing suicide so long after the incident.

The employer had admitted that Mr Corr’s depression was a reasonably forseeable consequence of the incident.

Carys is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.

Source: http://www.articleheaven.com/article_553138_18.html

Employee blogging can involve the disclosure of confidential business information, disparagement or criticism of other employees or of the company itself, and display interests that are in conflict with the company contracts and policies. The trend these days show the court’s support for employers who decided to terminate a particular employee who was found to be engaging in behavior that is in conflict with the company’s best interest.

It has actually been established that employees who damage their employer via blogging are violating their obligation to be loyal to the company. This duty of loyalty encompasses duties of confidentiality and obedience. On the other hand, this duty of loyalty is violated in cases of disparagement of the managers, criticism of the company, harmful speech and insubordination. One example of an employee blogging that became a problem for the employer involved a flight attendant who posted provocative photos of herself wearing her airline uniform. Another employee, hired by Google, posted his criticism and other impressions of his employer. A Microsoft employee also took photos of several Apple computers as they were delivered and posted them on his personal blog. All these employees, in this case, were terminated on the basis of their personal blog content.

The blog monitoring being conducted by these employers is being considered by many employees as a violation of their “right to free speech.” This right to free speech, however, as indicated in the First Amendment, only covers the government’s restrictions on individuals or groups. But in “employment-at-will” states, existing law allows employers to terminate employees who were found to be disloyal to the company. Even so, employers should be very careful when involved in situations involving employee blogging. If they are not careful, they could damage their reputation in the business community especially if they were seen as being too intrusive to their employee’s personal activities.

In order to avoid these concerns, employers should implement general employee blogging policies, which will cover blogging agreements and procedures to be followed for employee blogging. These policies should also cover the use of electronic resources as well as rules on harassment, discrimination and non-disclosure. The agreement between employers and employees must also include in detail policies and guidelines involving the removal and use of confidential company information and rules for the use of company-sponsored blogs. In case the employer has not yet created guidelines for internet usage, the company should immediately come up with one. The employer should then advise their employees that they will be monitoring personal internet use especially during work hours. Lastly, employers must check the present condition of their internet security in order to know if they are at risk for data mismanagement including internet sites and archived emails. The general policies covering such internet usage and blogging should guarantee that the employees will not be able to disparage or criticize their employers and should promote confidentiality and professionalism.

While employee blogging guidelines may result in communication limitations, employers should be careful not to impede on labor laws, whistleblower statutes and other employment-at will policies. The employers should be aware that there are states that consider it illegal to terminate employees for off-site or private activities unrelated to their employment. There are also cases where termination is deemed illegal when the employee posted the company’s illegal activities on their blog. In connection, employees should be allowed to post statements related to union organizing and other similar activities. In other words, employee blogging policies should be drafted based upon these considerations.

It is recommended that employers assign an individual to do the blog monitoring. There are actually public corporations that are obligated to monitor employee communications as part of state or federal regulation. On the other hand, private corporations are allowed to monitor communications to make sure that their employees are not involved in improper conduct such as disclosure of confidential company information. More importantly, a company should create an employee blogging policy that adheres to the guidelines set by the National Labor Relations Act, where blogging activities are protected. Employers should make sure that their monitoring does not violate any NLRA policies on blogging. Informing employees of any revisions to the existing policies or changes in implementing guidelines is equally important.

About the Author

Robert Masud, Esq. is the principal of Masud & Company LLC, a law firm for the world of business, finance and the internet.
Find out how our lawyers can help you at http://www.masudco.com.

Author Profile: robertmasudesq

Article Source: Populate.NET Article Directory

The FLSA covers all employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by a company that engages in or produces goods for interstate commerce. Under the FLSA, the national minimum wage is currently set at $5.85, after the latest increase from the Fair Minimum Wage Act in July 2007. This minimum wage provision is not at simple as it sounds. For example, workers who receive tips (waiters in a restaurant, for example) are held to a different wage standard – they have a minimum wage of just over $2 an hour, provided that this standard wage plus their tips averages $5.85 or higher an hour.

The second main role of the FLSA is the delineation of overtime pay rules. According to the FLSA, workers must be paid time and a half for overtime hours. In simplified form, this means that a worker who puts in 50 hours in a single work week must be paid 1.5 times his normal wage for the 10 hours over 40 that he worked. Not all employees are covered by this portion of the FLSA.

The FLSA also sets out regulations for child labor. In summary, FLSA regulations permit children 14 years and older to work, while limiting the number of hours for 14 and 15 year old youths, and requiring that enough time be allowed for attending school. A slightly different set of standards is used for farm work; in general, the age requirement is loosened for agricultural jobs, and children of any age may perform any job for unlimited hours on a farm owned and operated by their parents.

For more information on labor standards and employment law, check out the resources provided by Los Angeles employment lawyer Perry Smith at his website:

http://www.losangeles-employmentlawyer.com.

Joseph Devine

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine

What is joint tenancy?

Joint tenancy is the co-ownership of property during the lives of two or more joint tenants. Upon the death of one of the joint tenants, the remaining joint tenant(s) immediately succeed to the ownership of the property. If there is only one surviving joint tenant, he or she becomes the sole owner, thus avoiding the probate process.

What is tenancy-in-common?

Tenancy-in-common is also the co-ownership of property. However, unlike joint tenancy, upon the death of a one of the tenants in common, the other tenants in common do not succeed to the deceased tenant’s interest.

What are the risks of joint tenancy?

Simply adding someone to title as a joint tenant in realty is a gift that could trigger a gift tax. More importantly, the creditors of the joint tenants can go after the property. Let’s look at an example for illustration:

Mom adds son as a joint tenant on their vacation home. She trusts her son completely. However, her son has an accident which causes injuries. The injured party is able to collect against the son’s half of the home. Mom who was home watching TV when the accident occurred has lost half her home’s value.

The addition of a joint tenant may have other unintended consequences. When Mom added son to the title, she made a gift which may make her ineligible for Medicaid to pay for her nursing home care for a substantial period of time.

A parent will often add one of his or her children as joint tenant to a bank accounts in order to give the child access to the account in the event of the parent’s disability. By adding the child as joint tenant there is danger that a child will make unauthorized withdrawals from the account. Furthermore, title to the bank account will vest with the joint tenant child after the death of the parent, which may be contrary to how the parent wishes his or her estate to be divided at death.

Rather than face these and other unintended consequences, it is often best to avoid joint tenancy and form a revocable trust to avoid probate. A revocable trust is a simple vehicle which holds title to assets for you. A revocable trust designates how the assets are to be distributed at death and provides emergency access to funds in the event of disability, but it protects the assets from the creditors of beneficiaries and prevents unauthorized withdrawals during lifetime. At your death, the revocable trust continues on. Thus, there is no need for a probate court to be involved to re-title the assets which are owned by the revocable trust.

A revocable trust is a simple, straight-forward method of avoiding probate and the risks of joint ownership. Before titling anything in joint tenancy, consult a qualified estate planning attorney who knows the risks of joint tenancy and the advantages of revocable trusts.

Joel J. Loquvam, Attorney at Law
Mr. Loquvam is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys and has been engaged in the practice of law for the last 22 years. For more information or to attend an upcoming seminar, call (310) 724-7377. You can also visit his website at http://www.LegacyWealthPlan.com for up to date Estate Planning information, FREE Reports and test your knowledge of Estate Planning by taking the online quiz.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_Loquvam

In many instances, even if you believe it is obvious to an employee why they are being fired, it might not be as clear to them. With the exception of the most extreme cases, it is much better to inform them of your decision and explain your reasons, rather than simply having them presented with a notice of termination. In most cases, you can be both firm and kind when you are letting an employee know that they are being terminated.

In instances where you are terminating a person’s employment due to some type of illegal activity on their part, it is a good idea to inform them if you plan to take legal action. For example, if they have stolen something from your company, it is wise to terminate their employment as soon as you possibly can.

If you are in the position of needing to terminate a person from their job when they have not been at any fault, a frank discussion should be in order. For example, if your company needs to downsize by lowering its number of employees, they should not be in the position of feeling as if they did something wrong. In other cases, such as if they have been unable or unwilling to perform their job to meet your reasonable expectations; these facts should be made clear to them. It may have a significant impact on whether or not they will attempt to secure similar employment with another company; and it can also have a very strong effect on whether or not they are successful at doing so. If their work has not been up to par, it is in their best interests as well as yours to let them know the facts.

Sometimes it is necessary to terminate an employee due to extreme friction in the workplace. If the employee is constantly having personality-clashes with your other workers, it can make the workplace very uncomfortable for everyone concerned, as well as lowering other employees’ ability to conduct their own jobs properly. If you have tried to resolve this type of difficulty with your employee and have not been successful, terminating them may be the only reasonable solution.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your employee’s termination, it is necessary to be fair in letting them know the reason they are being fired or let go. Losing a job is stressful, under any circumstances; a bit of respect and consideration can make it easier for everyone concerned.

Ted L. Moss, CPP is the President and CEO of Crimcheck.com, one of the nation’s leading pre-employment screening providers. Mr. Moss is an expert on matters of pre-employment screening, identity theft, Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance, and safe hiring practices. Additionally, Mr. Moss is a Regional Vice President for ASIS International, the preeminent organization for security professionals and a member of NAPBS and SHRM. Please visit http://www.crimcheck.com or http://www.tedlmoss.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Todd_Moss

According to Metzgar, “before the union,” his father “worked, very irregularly without a union for seven terrible years…. Metzgar’s grandfather and his peers were decimated by industrial accidents while others ground down overtime into drunkenness and demoralization” (Metzgar, p. 6)

After the union, Metzgar testified “he saw nothing but improvements – overtime, dramatic improvements – in every aspect of his life. His father retired at the age of fifty-six and lived comfortably on a steelworker’s pension, with steelworkers’ health insurance, even spending the winter months in Florida! No regular guy in the history of the world had seen the material conditions of his life improve more dramatically” (Metzgar, p. 6)

There you have it – in Metzgar’s own words in the preceding two paragraphs – illustrations of the ‘before the union’ era and the ‘after the union’ era. In the following paragraphs we will explore the most important changes workers experienced.

In total agreement with Metzgar, workers experienced dignity and respect which they lacked before the union. For example, Metzgar told the story of the foreman who fired an employee because he refused to allow his daughter to date him. According to Metzgar’s father, the anger wasn’t about the termination (out of work) but about the indignities the employee suffered in his inability to tell the foreman – no – without any varnish. Unionism was able to take away a foreman’s power of ‘life & death’ and transferred it to the impersonal contract (even which the company had to abide….)
Secondly, Metzgar mentioned his grandfather’s industrial accident whereas he lost both arms. He suffered the indignity of having someone scratching his itches. He had to survive on a monthly disability of $30. The Union changed that by providing healthcare (whereas, a disabled employee has access to free prosthetic limbs), and a substantial disability insurance plan.

Thirdly, Metzgar mentioned that a worker would work until he is in his fifties. In his fifties, he would become less productive due to aches and the malevolent weather (e.g., cold) whereas he would be ‘pushed out the door’ after so many years of being pushed to be productive. With the Union, Metzgar’s father was able to retire at the age of fifty-six years old. He was financially secure and comfortable. He had two homes in two different states; cars, and etc.

Fourthly, the FLSA and the NLRA benefitted the working class many times over. It created more work for more people with shorter hours; shorter work week and early retirement incentives. Metzgar argued, also, how the important changes brought out by the unions benefitted the community at large by increasing the spending power of the working class – a spending power that translated into more jobs and igniting (via investments) new industries (like computers).

In conclusion, I could write a book (but I’m limited by time) about the differences workers experienced in the steel industry “before the Union” and “after the Union” which I borrowed from Metzgar, himself, and my own opinion as it pertains to the most important changes workers experienced.

Karl A. Mitchell

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karl_Mitchell

The construction industry puts the bodies of its workers under great strain and exposes them to many potential health risks. There are a number of accidents that can happen in the construction industry due to a number of aspects such as faulty equipment, no matter how much or less they are damaged, at the first sign of wear and tear they should stop being used for safety reasons as they run the risk of causing a construction accident. As well as damaged equipment there is also the risk of scaffolding collapsing and people having falls from ladders or safety harnesses breaking. Another potential construction accident could be the fall from a roof.

Research shows that 71 people died between 2002 and 2003 within the construction industry due to aspects such as the ones mentioned above. In order to stop these deaths and injuries from occurring the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are responsible for enforcing safety regulations in the UK. It is also the responsibility of your employer to ensure that the workplace is safe but this only works with the cooperation of all the tradesmen and staff on a construction site. It is an employee’s responsibility to report any defects in the workplace or on any of the equipment that is being used.

Without the correct health and safety in a construction site accidents will happen and these accidents could result in severe injuries such as broken/fractured bones, head and neck injury, torn muscles/ligaments, back injury, spinal cord damage and many more.

If you are a tradesmen working actively on a construction site it is essential that if you feel at any moment that you are not fully trained in what you are meant to be doing or if the equipment that you are using is faulty it is important that you inform your employer straight away so that the problem can be resolved before any serious damage occurs.

If you have been injured whilst working on a construction site then you could be entitled to put a claim in for compensation. If the injuries that are currently suffering or the injuries that you have suffered in the past three years have meant that you are restricted from performing your daily activities or if they have meant that you are out of work then you could be entitled to compensation to cover your initial injuries as well as any loss of earnings you have suffered and any medical expenses that you have encountered.

For more information about claiming for compensation after a construction accident that should have been avoided contact a no win no fee solicitor and they will guide you through the compensation process.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, specialists in all aspects of Constructions Accidents and Workplace Accidents.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Cox